Page 3971 - Week 10 - Thursday, 20 September 2018
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unnoticed until a tragedy takes place, and is too often stereotyped on our televisions, telling a very small part of the wider story.
I was pleased to see that the Child and Youth Protection Services team also held their own awards during the week, celebrating the contribution of their colleagues to collaboration, innovation, integrity and respect. In my experience of meeting and speaking with child and youth protection staff, it is their personal commitment to these values and to keeping children safe that keeps them coming back each day and undertaking some of the most challenging work of government.
The following week we celebrated Foster and Kinship Carer Week. This week provides an opportunity to celebrate the important role of carers in the lives of our young Canberrans and to show our appreciation for the incredible work they do. Foster carers and kinship carers are undeniably the backbone of our out of home care system. Carers open their hearts and their homes to the most vulnerable children and young people in our community. Deciding to become a foster or kinship carer requires considerable commitment, as it can bring significant change and some challenges to the life of a carer and their family, but also, as I hear from carers regularly, a lot of joy.
During Foster and Kinship Carer Week I had the privilege of hearing carers’ stories and seeing firsthand the impact that carers have on the lives of children and young people. I also had another opportunity to hear directly from young people about their experiences of out of home care and the incredible impact that foster and kinship carers have. These two weeks are an important time of year. I thank the Assembly for the opportunity to mark them.
Wall to Wall fundraising ride
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella—Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Minister for Planning and Land Management, Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Minister assisting the Chief Minister on Advanced Technology and Space Industries) (5.10): I stand this evening to congratulate ACT Policing and the AFP for supporting comradeship in policing. Each of our officers does a fantastic job for our community in often difficult circumstances.
Last Sunday I had the pleasure of joining ACT Policing and AFP motorcyclists for the annual Wall to Wall Ride. The ride serves as a remembrance of officers across Australia who have lost their lives in the course of duty. We began with a solemn ceremony at the National Police Memorial in Barton and a very difficult address by Assistant Commissioner CPO, Justine Saunders. It was difficult because we had just learned that an officer from Victoria Police had lost his life while riding to Canberra for this occasion, and even more difficult as we learned that his son was with him at the time.
After the ACT ceremony, riders continued to the Goulburn police academy and then returned to Canberra for the city ride, finishing with the national ceremony at the national wall.
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