Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Emmanuel Christian Community School in Girrawheen, close to my electorate office in Perth's northern suburbs, celebrated its 40th anniversary on 14 August this year. Past and current students, families and staff attended a church service and a lunch to celebrate four remarkable decades of achievement. The school is part of the ministry of the Girrawheen Baptist Church and is led by its vision to change lives through Christ-centred education. From Easter and ANZAC Day services with the school's excellent cadets to addressing classes of politics students to the opening of new facilities, its strong values are evident whenever I visit the campus and meet those learning and working there.

The school has grown from just 22 students in two classes in 1982 to more than 700 students today, including 256 secondary students, having become a kindergarten-to-year-12 school in 2012. Emmanuel Christian Community School aims to provide an education that stresses cooperation rather than competition. The impressive growth of the school over time is a testament to its supportive, tight-knit and very multicultural community. I greatly value my strong association and connection with the school.

I'm also proud to have been able to officiate at a number of important events which announced and supported coalition government investments in the school. Last year I opened the new west wing, a project made possible by a $1½ million grant from the Capital Grants Program. The redevelopment included the construction of a double storage facility with 11 learning areas for secondary students. The project has given and will continue to give students at the school the best possible chance of success.

I visited the school at the beginning of 2022 to present a bright new Australian flag. I thank all of the students, many of whom have come from multicultural families across Perth's northern suburbs, many of them recent arrivals in our country. I thank them very much. (Time expired)