Surf Life Saving South Australia

Mr COWDREY (Colton) (15:22): I would like to take a slightly different tack from that of the last couple of members. I would like to take this opportunity to recognise the sporting achievements of the two surf lifesaving clubs within my community.

On Saturday 2 June, I had the pleasure of attending the Henley Surf Life Saving Club senior presentation night, and it was a night of genuine recognition for many surf lifesavers and volunteers within that club. I am not sure if you are aware, Mr Speaker, but the Henley Surf Life Saving Club was the first surf lifesaving club to be established here in South Australia. It was established in 1925 and, from looking around on Saturday night, the sense of community and camaraderie in the club is a direct reflection of the success it has had and it will continue to have well into the future.

The week prior, on Saturday 26 May, the West Beach Surf Life Saving Club also held its annual presentation evening. Unfortunately, I could not get there due to a conflicting event, but I would like to thank my colleague the member for Morphett for attending on my behalf. From all reports, the night was a great success and enjoyed by all who attended. I am a passionate advocate for Surf Life Saving, the service it provides and the community it helps to build.

The West Beach and Henley surf lifesaving clubs both do a tremendous job patrolling our beaches and keeping our community safe. As a frequent beachgoer myself, it is reassuring to know that our beaches are supervised by such committed and passionate members of our community. I would like to take this opportunity to recognise and congratulate the major award winners from both of the surf clubs' presentation evenings.

At the Henley Surf Life Saving Club presentation night, the Club Member of the Year—or members, as it was in this case—was jointly awarded to the fantastic power couple of Emma Cassidy and Matthew Gardner. I also had the pleasure of personally presenting the Club Champion awards across several categories. The Open category was won by Cameron Johns and the Masters category was awarded to Claire Burke and Grant Turner. The Under 19s was awarded to Ciara McGeagh and Cooper Forest, the Under 17s went to Aimee Moroney-Plouffe and Evan Corbett, the Under 15s was awarded to Layan Saadeh and Oscar Forest and, finally, the Under 14s was awarded to Bethany Corbett, Austin Bridge and Jarrod Butterfield. All of the award winners from the Henley Surf Life Saving Club Senior Presentation Night should be very proud of their achievements and I wish them all the very best for the next season.

At the West Beach Surf Life Saving Club awards night, Leca Reading took out the prestigious Club Person of the Year, Benjamin Zuill won Life Members Best Competitor, and Frank Martin took home the Stephen Trengove Youth Club Person of the Year. I also congratulate the new club champions. The J. Edwards Senior Male was Benjamin Zuill. The Kay Dempsey Senior Female was Kate Curtis. The Masters Male was awarded to Damien Newberry and Grant Simpson, and the Masters Female to Jo Sutcliffe. The Junior Males were Lachie Boag and Tommy Newberry, and Junior Female was Alyson Hettner. The Cadet Male was Frank Martin, and the Cadet Female was Stella Benger. All of the award winners are highly respected members of the West Beach Surf Life Saving Club and I congratulate them on their success through their season.

I also acknowledge that sporting clubs like these cannot run on their own. It takes a lot of hard work, commitment and many volunteer hours to support and sustain successful clubs like the Henley Beach and West Beach surf lifesaving clubs. From what I have seen, both Henley and West Beach are very fortunate to have fantastic volunteer and membership bases and are well supported by their local communities.

I look forward to working alongside both of the surf lifesaving clubs in my capacity as the local member of parliament and to deliver on the commitments that the state Liberal Party made during the election. I would like to list them all, but I have very little time left and will just list a few of those commitments: providing free DCSI clearance for all volunteers—as I mentioned, many volunteers are involved in both of those surf clubs; providing financial support to families who participate in Surf Babies and Little Life Savers; and a very important one is increasing the kids' sports vouchers to $100 for primary school-age children to help cover the cost of membership and registration fees.

To conclude, again I congratulate the major award winners from the Henley Beach and West Beach surf lifesaving clubs and wish them all the very best for next season.