Page 1838 - Week 05 - Thursday, 10 May 2018
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In listing just some of the achievements of these few young people, it is evident how much capacity there is among younger Canberrans to make a real contribution to our community. I am proud to be a part of a government that supports young people to make these contributions. We do this in part through our Youth Week grants, our Youth InterACT scholarships and the work of the Youth Advisory Council.
There can be significant barriers that can inhibit the participation of young people, and we must be proactive in including young people in our discussions. That is why I am so pleased to inform members of the recent appointment of six new members of the Youth Advisory Council. These new members—Ngalan Gilbert, Sukanya Ananth, Liam Jones, Grace Kemp, James Morgan and our Young Canberra Citizen of the Year, Dhani Gilbert—will bring a range of new perspectives to the council and ensure that it continues to provide excellent and crucial advice to the government. I had the pleasure of meeting with the Youth Advisory Council earlier this week and I can tell you, Madam Assistant Speaker, that it is a very impressive and somewhat intimidating group of young people.
An existing council member, Natasha Tioukavkin, has been appointed as a new co-chair, alongside existing co-chair Isaac Martin. It was, as I said, a pleasure to meet the new-look council at their meeting earlier this week. I would like to thank the outgoing members of the Youth Advisory Council, including the co-chair, Rashna Farruhk, for their dedication to the council and to creating a Canberra that works better to support and engage young people.
While taking this moment to reflect on the achievements of young people in our community, Madam Assistant Speaker, I want to also take the opportunity to talk about a group of young people whose successes we do not usually hear much about. Not long ago, the young people at Bimberi held the first relay for life at the centre. The young people were rostered to walk in one to two-hour shifts on the oval during daylight hours and in the gym at night. They walked, along with Bimberi and Murrumbidgee Education and Training Centre staff, approximately 115 kilometres over a period of 24 hours.
At last tally, the young people’s efforts had raised $1,400 for the Cancer Council, with more donations still to be added. I had the opportunity to join the young people for the completion of the 24-hour relay and heard from one of the young people how cancer had touched their life and that this was a major motivating factor to get involved in this fantastic initiative. I am pleased to say that preparations are already underway for next year and to make the event a permanent fixture on the Bimberi calendar. Congratulations to all involved, particularly to the young people who showed such dedication during the walk.
Sport—squash
MS LAWDER (Brindabella) (5.13): I want to briefly touch on some fantastic squash that was played in the ACT last week at the ACT open. It was won by Rex Hedrick from Melbourne, who most recently had competed in the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. He beat Malaysian No 6 seed Addeen Idrakie in the final, 11-5, 11-5, 11-3, in just 35 minutes.
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