Southern Community Organisations

Ms HILDYARD (Reynell) (15:23): I rise today to speak about several community organisations and people in our southern community in my electorate of Reynell. I had the pleasure of visiting the Noarlunga Volunteer Transport Service on 26 February. I met with the lovely and incredibly hardworking and competent Pat Maslin, who coordinates around 50 volunteers who generously offer their time and energy to supporting fellow community members who need a hand when they or a family member is ill or when they are in need of support to get to medical appointments, to attend other services and appointments or to do their shopping.

This service, staffed by volunteers, has been going strong for around 25 years, and it is a service that makes a real and practical difference in the lives of many. I know a number of these volunteers and am continually impressed by their dedication over years to serving others. From talking with community members when I am out doorknocking at shopping centres and community events, I hear great feedback about these volunteers and about how important the friendly relationship that they build with those they serve is to them. I record my thanks here to these volunteers for their generosity and their ongoing commitment to the more vulnerable people in our southern community.

On 16 March, it was wonderful to be with the YWCA Adelaide southern Karuna group. As many members would know, the YWCA is a global movement led by women, for women, that achieves positive change through advocacy, programs and services for women, their families and communities. The YWCA focuses on developing women and girls' leadership, and promotes gender equality.

A number of YWCA groups meet around the world. In Morphett Vale in Reynell, the inspiring group of women who make up this southern YWCA Karuna group have been meeting every single week during school term time for almost 40 years, and remain committed to continuing to work together to make a difference with and for women and girls.

It was great to speak with them about my journey, and about how we must speak up together to prevent and end domestic violence. It was great to hear about their journey as a group, from when a number of them were young mums in our community, to see their ongoing unity in their quest to achieve gender equality, and their ongoing desire to connect with one another and to continue to welcome new members to their group. I look forward to hosting them here in parliament later this year, and to helping them celebrate their 40^th birthday.

Last night, I had the pleasure of attending the Morphett Vale Youth Club's AGM. I am honoured to be one of the club's vice patrons—honoured, because this gymnastics club is a club which, as well as teaching gymnastics skills to many southern young people, provides a strong and important sense of community and family to the young people who attend.

It was clear from the conversations at the AGM last night, and through all my dealings with the club, that the dedicated committee members are deeply committed to seeing the young people they support every Tuesday and Wednesday evening at training—and, indeed, at the many other events they organise throughout the year—flourish and do the best they can in gymnastics and in all aspects of their life.

Thank you very much to committee members Neville Gibbs OAM, Sue Southwell, Cindy Davies, Grant Siemensma, John Pickering and many others for caring about our community's young people, and congratulations to all of them for working hard to achieve Starclub status—a demonstration of their commitment to providing a safe environment for all of the children involved with the club.

Finally, I wanted to record my congratulations to local Wirreanda Secondary School student Dane Proepster on his selection to compete at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships held in Perth the weekend before last. It was an outstanding achievement by a considerate, clever, community-minded and very, very quick young man.

I am very proud to support this young man. I know that many of us in our southern community cheered him on as he tackled the 200 metres and the 4 x 200 metre relay at the championships. I also know that, with his great early success in athletics here in South Australia and his determination and positive attitude, he has a long career in athletics ahead of him, and indeed in any other career or pursuit he sets his heart and mind on.

Well done also to Dane's lovely mother, Kristel Hannaford-Proepster, who has supported him every step of the way. Kristel is someone who not only supports her children in all of their activities, but supports many others through her voluntary work with school governing councils, Little Athletics and many other organisations in the south. Kristel is a woman who gives much to our community without ever seeking acknowledgment or accolades, and I record my thanks to her here.