Page 4602 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 31 October 2018
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supporting respectful relationships concerns treating people as people, offering equitable opportunities and dislodging gendered norms for the next generation of students.”
With that sentiment I could not agree more, and I want to thank Mimi for spending the day with me on the International Day of the Girl Child. Indeed, I think the parliament almost did get taken over by young women during that week. I want to thank Mimi for sharing her insights with me, and I will continue to advocate on her behalf. I want to thank the organisers of the girls take over parliament day. It was a fantastic program, and I look forward to participating in future years.
National Children’s Week
Hackett Community Association
MS STEPHEN-SMITH (Kurrajong—Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Disability, Minister for Children, Youth and Families, Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety, Minister for Government Services and Procurement, Minister for Urban Renewal) (5.37): I would like to take this opportunity to let the Assembly know about some recent opportunities I have had to engage with children and families in my electorate of Kurrajong. As members would be aware, 19 October marked the start of this year’s national Children’s Week. Children’s Week is an occasion for our community to recognise the vibrancy, energy, and joy that children contribute to our lives.
In celebration of Children’s Week this year, I held two Kids of Kurrajong barbecues, one in O’Connor’s Finn Street Park in the inner north, and one in Telopea Park in the inner south. The goal of these events was to bring children and families together for a fun day of craft, Kurrajong-themed colouring-in and, of course, the obligatory sausage sizzle. The goal was to build connections between children and families in our community.
Unfortunately the weather was not favourable to us at the Finn Street Park event. Almost immediately after we fired up the barbecue, the skies opened. My volunteers diligently continued as it rained down on us, but when the ESA issued a severe thunderstorm warning I figured we should probably call it quits for the day. We did manage to give out a few sausages before we packed up, and I had a wonderful conversation about the ACT’s container deposit scheme with a young girl named Lily who is a passionate recycler and environmentalist.
The following day we were lucky to have clear skies for our Telopea Park event. It was wonderful to see kids enjoying the sunshine and having fun in the park, and thankfully their parents ate through most of the surplus sausages from the day before. The children who attended seemed to be especially interested in our pasta art table. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring with me the fashionable pasta bracelet which was skilfully designed and crafted by a little girl who attended the Telopea Park event, but it takes pride of place in my office. We also set up a box city play area, and it was great to see kids using their creativity and their engineering skills to bring the cities of their imagination to life. I am looking forward to hosting similar events during Children’s Week next year.
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