Kaurna Electorate Service Clubs

Mr PICTON (Kaurna) (15:40): I rise today to acknowledge some of the very important service organisations in the Kaurna electorate. We are very lucky to have some very important organisations. I take my hat off to all those volunteers who put in so many hours and contribute so much of their own time and money into investing in important community causes. As many members will know, this is the traditional time for handover dinners and lunches between those organisations, so I have been to some of them recently.

Last week, together with the member for Reynell, I was at the Rotary Club of Noarlunga's handover dinner. They meet in my electorate in Christies Beach, in the Rotary hall there. It was a good opportunity to congratulate outgoing president Dini Whyte on a fantastic year that that club has had, and also to welcome president Alan Nelson, who is back for another go as the president of that club. Some of the achievements that club has had this year are quite amazing. Once again, they held a very popular breakfast for Australia Day at Ramsay Place, Noarlunga Centre. They have sponsored students, particularly from Christies Beach High School, to attend things such as the Health of the River Forum and the Rotary youth programs enrichment trips, as well as trips for special needs students at Christies Beach High School.

They have also sponsored a number of overseas engagements, such as sponsoring four Indonesian students' education and donating to the School of St Jude in Tanzania. I was happy to go to a couple of events with the member for Reynell. We attended the quiz night that they had for Halloween, which raised funds for Christmas hampers that were distributed by Junction Australia to those families doing it tough. They also had a musical matinee event earlier this year, which raised funds for a great new charity called Essentials 4 Women that helps people fleeing domestic violence and other homeless women with some of the essential feminine hygiene products that they need. I was happy to support them. In particular, Amanda Rishworth, the federal MP, put a huge amount of effort into supporting that program. I congratulate Amy Rust and Kelly Peacock, who ran that program very well. For the Rotary Club, next year the president Alan Nelson is going to have a big job in terms of planning the 50^th anniversary of that club, which is going to be a fantastic event in September next year.

I was also very happy to attend the Willunga and Districts Lions Club handover lunch, which was held at Aldinga Beach. Despite being the Willunga club, their hall is in Aldinga and a significant number of the members are from Aldinga, including the ongoing president, who handed over to himself, Tony Bezuidenhout. He continues in that role and has been doing a fantastic job. They have been sponsoring a large number of local organisations, including the CFS, Girl Guides, McLaren Vale hospital and the Willunga District Community Bus. They have also hosted the Lions Youth of the Year Awards, which have helped local students to improve their public speaking.

The club has two very significant fundraisers. The women's auxiliary are the biggest fundraiser for the club, amassing an amazing $150,000 a year through opening their op shop two days a week. It is a fantastic op shop and they do a really successful job. The other fundraisers, mostly from the blokes, are not quite as successful but they still do a great job. They do giant trash and treasure markets, swap meets and auctions, which are held at the Lions' property at Willunga.

A big thank you must go to Bunnings, who have donated to Lions some very large sheds for their property. That came from the new Bunnings that is being installed at Seaford on the old Wood 'N' Logs site. Those sheds are worth some $100,000 dollars to the club, and will help their fundraising in the long term.

The last club I would like to mention is the Provisional Rotary Club of Seaford. This is just starting up now and is gaining momentum in the community. There has been a significant gap, with Seaford not having any service clubs in the area, particularly as it has grown very quickly over the past 20 years and is still set to grow significantly over the next decade.

I congratulate Mark Huddleston from the Rotary District, and also the provisional president Cecile Caldwell, for their tremendous efforts in helping the club to get off the ground. They have already been heavily involved in participating in Seaford family fun days and sitting on the Seaford network of community organisations. They are actively recruiting for new members and getting good interest. They are also very keen to work with Seaford Secondary College and other local schools to make sure that those students have access to the wide range of Rotary youth programs. I congratulate those three clubs and look forward to working with them all into the future.