Page 3802 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 24 September 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
At the special event last Friday night the children had opportunities to dance and perform. It was amazing to see these children connecting with their culture and heritage through dance and music. I congratulate the parents for instilling this valuable part into their children’s lives. Congratulations to Khusbu Neupane, the president of the Australia Nepal Friendship Society, and her team for organising a wonderful event, one that many may describe as beautiful and inspiring.
On the weekend the Canberra-Nepalese Football Club also organised the Nepal Embassy Cup, a soccer tournament, at the Australian Institute of Sport. It was a two-day event. On the first day the weather was not too friendly, with rain and wind making it a very cold and wet day for the event organisers as well as the players. But the rain did not stop them having fun. They continued to play all day long.
The winning teams made it to the quarterfinals, semifinals and the finals on Sunday. I was there and watched the final match, an exciting game with a tied score when time ran out. The teams went into a shootout, with the result again being tied. According to the rule, they were allowed to flip a coin to determine the winner. Unhappy with the match game being determined by the chance of flipping a coin, captains from each team agreed to continue having the shootout until there was a winner. Finally, with much anticipation and excitement, we had a winner. It was an exciting game.
Congratulations to all the players and a very special thankyou to the president of the Canberra Nepalese Football Club, Ashish Sapkota, and his team for organising a fantastic community soccer tournament. We look forward to next year’s tournament as well as when the Nepalese play the Socceroos next month at the GIO Stadium.
Neurofibromatosis
MS CHEYNE (Ginninderra) (3.42): Madam Speaker, as you know, for the past three years I have been proud to be the ambassador for the Australian Children’s Tumour Foundation’s NF Hero event and walk in Canberra. The Children’s Tumour Foundation supports children and their families with neurofibromatosis, NF1 and NF2. Tumours grow on the spine and the ends of nerves, on the brain and behind your eyes. They are entirely unpredictable.
Children with NF, though, are not unpredictable. They are, on the whole, brave and resilient heroes who we were proud to support and celebrate with an event in Glebe Park on Sunday, 8 September. As part of the event, we did an awareness-raising walk around the city.
You might remember that this time last year I brought to the Assembly’s attention the journey of Libby Elliott. At four, Libby was diagnosed with NF and had tumours which required immediate action. I am pretty sure that Libby is not 10 yet—sorry if you are, Libby—but she has had tumours since then, on her spinal cord, at the base of her brain and behind her eyes.
You might also remember, though, that last year I brought your attention to Libby’s broader family, particularly her father, Cam Elliott. Last year Cam raised $11,000 by
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video