Page 2207 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 22 June 2010
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Joshua’s ultimate dream is to compete at the 2014 Winter Olympics and to build a successful career within his sport, either in ice shows or by becoming a professional coach for young skaters. His determination and commitment to achieve what many people would once have thought unachievable have been met with the greatest admiration from his coaches, judges and officials within the sport. Most importantly, Joshua wants to show the world that people with a disability are just as capable of achieving their dreams as anyone else. He is determined to one day be self-sufficient so that he no longer has to rely on a government disability allowance.
Joshua’s training consists of six hours of lessons every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday in Sydney with Australia’s highest qualified world Olympic coaches. Recently Joshua gained employment at Dendy Cinemas on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, to assist his parents with the many expenses associated with his dream—a dream that is shared by his parents, Anita and Randall Gordon.
On Friday night, thanks to the generosity of the Southern Cross Club and close to 300 members of our fantastic Canberra community, we went a long way to assisting Joshua to reach for the stars. Through the generosity of the attendees and the many sponsors and donors, almost $16,000 was raised. We cannot name everyone, but the generosity of the Lords Taverners, George Lemezina Homes, Organised Interiors of Hume; Virgin Airlines, Richard Rolfe and Audi need to be recognised. And the volunteers need to be recognised: Lachlan Kennedy and Erin Molan, who acted as MCs, and Kate Davis, who performed wonders with her involvement.
It was a bipartisan effort, and I thank Ms Bresnan for her contribution to the prizes, to assist with the fundraising. And I mention my colleagues: Alistair Coe, who was also a great contributor, and Mr Hanson and Mr Seselja.
Mr Hanson: Who won the trivia quiz?
MR DOSZPOT: As it turned out, despite being non-partisan it was a fairly competitive night, and I am not going to say who won.
I would like to recognise some of the other people who contributed: the Rotary Club of Canberra City; Blake Adams; Megan Barons; Susan Blinksell; Kate Davis; Emily Davis; Adam and Annette Doszpot; Amy Doszpot and Edward Spence; Maureen Doszpot; Merlin Kong; Chris Inglis; Colleen McInerny; Margaret Mackie; Maria Russoniello; Karin Semecky; Janica Spiteri; Lorenza Van De Kley; Maria Violi; and Magda Viglatgis.
All in all, I would like to thank the 300-odd people who contributed to a great night and quiz. It was a great opportunity to raise funds for a very worthy young man.
Canberra Refugee Support group
MS BRESNAN (Brindabella) (5.49): I would like to speak on an event I attended on 15 June for World Refugee Day. It was the scholarships presentation from the Canberra Refugee Support group; Mr Doszpot and Mr Coe were also at the event. The purpose of the Canberra Refugee Support scholarships program is to recognise meritorious performance and to encourage and support outstanding refugee students in the pursuit of their personal development goals.
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