Light Electorate

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:37): I would like to use this opportunity to talk about a few matters pertaining to my electorate. Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit the Mark Oliphant College Children's Centre. I met with staff, volunteers and parents who are involved there. The centre is part of the Mark Oliphant College at Munno Para and caters for a whole new community, in the sense that not only is it a growing area with new people moving in but it is also a new community because a lot of the young children who attend the centre were either born overseas or their parents were born overseas, so it is quite a culturally diverse group of young children.

Walking through the centre, I could sense the positive feel about the whole place and the commitment by the staff, volunteers and parents to give every child who goes there the best head start in life. I talked to some of the staff. Like many centres in the northern parts of Adelaide and also in some parts of Gawler, a number of children experience learning difficulties. Rather than seeing this as a problem, this centre, like many others, sees it as a challenge to make sure that no child is left behind.

I was quite impressed with the way the centre uses play, art, craft and a whole range of activities to develop not only the children's motor skills but also their language skills. I was told stories about some young children who started at the centre not having any language skills whatsoever for a whole host of reasons. The work the volunteers and staff are doing is just magnificent. A whole range of health services is available at the centre that help with early diagnosis of any learning difficulties and also early intervention.

The centre has also made a conscious effort to introduce new programs so that parents, when their children are at an early age, have the opportunity to visit the centre for a period of time and the centre has a chance to engage with them and make an assessment about the special needs they require so that, when they formally start, those programs are in place and the children grow very quickly. It is one of a number of children's centres I have in my electorate. They are one of this government's important reforms to make sure that all our children have a good start to life. I commend the work being undertaken by the staff, volunteers and parents at the Mark Oliphant College Children's Centre.

There are a couple of things I would also like to mention in the time I have available, including the SALA Festival (South Australian Living Artists). There are a number of events and activities at a range of locations in my electorate. I would like to talk about several events that, in some way, I am personally involved in. Yesterday, I had the privilege of officially opening the SALA Three worlds: triple the insight art exhibition at Sia cafe at Evanston.

As an aside, the Sia cafe was recently announced the best cafe in regional South Australia. It is the third state award they have won. If you need a good cup of coffee or any other food, Sia cafe is not only good for its coffee and food but it is also a place to look at the artworks as part of the SALA Festival.

The exhibition, which is part of the Gawler SALA Art Trail, showcases the wonderful work of three talented local artists I am fortunate enough to know personally. Their works reflect their different perspectives and diverse life experiences. One of the artists is Scott Rathman, an Aboriginal artist whose work reflects both his Aboriginal ancestry and his desire to bring his art into contemporary society. His work is visually very stunning. The second artist is Barbara Palmer, a former art senior at Trinity College, who was inspired to create work based on the surface of water, the texture of stone and the elongated shapes of shadows. Her work is also visually very stunning. The third artist is Paul Pearce, another teacher from Trinity College, whose work reflects the urban setting, whereas Barbara Palmer's work reflects the rural setting. I commend this exhibition to people.

Time expired.