Page 4271 - Week 12 - Tuesday, 24 October 2017
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Australia claims that US nuclear weapons are essential for its security. We are all aware of the history of the British nuclear testing in the 1950s and 1960s and the enormous damage it caused to both the local population and the surrounding environment. While it is certainly disappointing, it is perhaps no surprise that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull made no effort to congratulate ICAN on their award.
While ICAN maintains headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, I would like to directly congratulate the hardworking members of ICAN Australia, including president Richard Tanter; Canberra’s own Sue Wareham; Jessica Lawson; Marcus Yip; Margaret Beavis; Daisy Gardener; Daryl Le Cornu; Ruth Mitchell; Tilam Ruff; Dave Sweeny; Tim Wright; Gem Romuld; and Chrys Gardener. To all the members and volunteers of ICAN Australia and throughout the international coalition, I congratulate you on this well-deserved recognition and I thank you for your ongoing and tireless efforts to make the world a better place for all of us.
Red Nose Canberra
MS LEE (Kurrajong) (5.08): I echo Ms Cody’s remarks, as I also had the great pleasure and privilege of participating in the Red Nose Canberra Takes 2 with a twist event this year. In July 1977 sudden infant death syndrome took the life of Glen Nelson, one of 18 babies to die of SIDS in Victoria in that month alone, and so in July 1977 the initiative to reduce that to zero was born. I congratulate Red Nose, which will be turning 40 this year. It was last year that SIDS and Kids changed its name to Red Nose because of the need to broaden its focus to other causes of infant and child deaths. In the past 40 years Red Nose has provided support and education resources and has made a significant impact upon reducing the number of child deaths in Australia.
In the ACT region it started in 2012 as then SIDS and Kids ACT, now Red Nose, with an initiative called Canberra Takes 2. I understand it was a singing competition of a kind. This year they decided to make it Canberra Takes 2 with a twist and turned it into a dancing competition. As Ms Cody pointed out, it was based loosely on the Dancing with the Stars concept, although in this case I would probably say it was more like “Dancing with some random Canberra people who couldn’t say no.” In addition to me and Ms Cody, many other brave souls bared a lot of themselves on stage, all to raise funds for Red Nose.
I was very lucky to be partnered with Matthew “Shorty” Short, whom I have known for quite a few years. Not only was he a neighbour of mine who literally was the kind of neighbour who would knock on my door and say, “Have you got a cup of sugar ’cause I’m baking and I’ve run out,” but he was also an integral part of the ANU Hockey Club, which I played for in my much younger and springier days.
Shorty and I managed to get together a few times where he took me through a few rock and roll steps. After that unfortunately life got in the way and there were five weeks of nothing. It was only with Shorty’s help and the trust that I had in him that we finalised the choreography four days before the event and did the final lift the day
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