Page 4078 - Week 13 - Tuesday, 17 November 2015
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particularly complicated piece of legislation on that day. Thank you to all of the members in the chamber who waved hello to the scouts when they were announced. They were very excited to be mentioned.
After watching the sitting, the scouts came to a meeting room where the scouts asked me questions about all aspects of government and the Assembly. There were many very intelligent questions asked. Some of the questions included asking about the differences between the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker and the Assistant Speakers, what it is like working in the Legislative Assembly, and the differences in the Hare-Clarke electoral system. We also spoke about some of the issues that members had been debating—for example, the Mr Fluffy legislation.
While the scouts were at the Assembly, I was privileged enough to take part in the investiture ceremonies of two new scouts. For those who are not aware of the practices of scouts, the investiture ceremony is when a scout-to-be publicly announces their commitment to the scout law by making the scout promise. Once they have made the scout promise, they have officially become a scout.
The scouts all stood in a U-shape around the room as scout section leader and patrol leaders walked the two new scouts through their promise. The new scouts were presented with badges to show that they were members of the Amaroo ACT and Australian scout movements. I was lucky enough to present the new scouts with their badges. I was very touched to then be presented with an Amaroo badge myself by the scout group. I look forward to attempting to sew the badge onto my blanket for the next time we go camping. It was wonderful to be included in the ceremony.
I would like to thank the Amaroo scout section leader, Brent Juratowitch, and also Bill Davison and Geoff Santleben, for bringing the group along to the Assembly. The scouts were all very well behaved and asked some terrific questions.
Having the Amaroo scout group visit really enforced the importance of educating the younger generation on what our great Assembly does and how the Assembly and the government can help them. Canberrans should be more aware of the issues we debate and the legislation we enact. Whether residents know it or not, the decisions we make here in this chamber do affect them all. Educating our children is the first step we can take to ensure each Canberran knows how the government and the Assembly work.
It was truly fantastic to see so many young Canberrans interested in the processes of the Legislative Assembly and the everyday work of all MLAs. It was a pleasure to host such an inquisitive group of young people. I thank them and wish them all the very best for the rest of their scout training.
Diwali Mela festival
MR COE (Ginninderra) (6.05): Today I would like to speak about an event I went to last Saturday, which was the annual Diwali Mela celebration. I was there, as were my colleagues Mr Hanson and Mr Smyth, as well as my Liberal colleague Mr Jacob Vadakkedathu. Diwali is the largest Indian festival and is celebrated by Hindus around the world. It is known as the “festival of lights” and represents the
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