House of Assembly Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1) 55 1 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Grievance Debate Light Electorate Light Electorate The Hon. A. PICCOLO House of Assembly Light The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:29): Today, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate a whole range of community organisations which have had some successful events in my electorate. The first organisation I would like to thank is the Motivate Dance Studio. Recently, I had the pleasure of attending one of two concerts held by the studio. The studio, which only started in the past 18 months or so, has grown from strength to strength. It has members who are younger than those who attend school, to those in their 80s. The concert was very professional, with a combination of music, dance and storytelling, and it was very impressive. They have some dancers who participated in the recent national schools championships. I hear that they are moving to larger premises soon, to Tiver Road at Evanston South, because of the growth in membership of the dance studio. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those involved in organising the concert at the studio because it was an impressive performance, and I must confess it did exceed my expectations in a very pleasant way. Also recently, I attended an event held at the STARplex Gawler stadium at Evaston Park, an event organised by the South Australian Wheelchair Basketball Association. It was marketed as a 'come and try' and was basically an event to highlight the various parasports available for people to participate in. Part of it was just to promote the various events and the various ways that people who might be living with disability can participate in sport, but also these are some of the sports that lead to the Paralympics. An important part about para-sports is that while people who are eligible must have some sort of disability, people locally can actually participate in the various para-sports events as well, which helps us to also gain a better understanding of some of the challenges and barriers that people living with disability face. I watched the basketballers play and they made it look very simple, but when I joined them I must confess I found out how difficult it can be and it was very impressive how fit they were. Hopefully, some of these players will play in the Paralympics down the track. I congratulate the South Australian Wheelchair Basketball Association on hosting the event and, hopefully, people will participate further. I would also like to congratulate the Gawler Quilting Circle which coordinated the most recent Gawler Textile Art Weekend on the weekend just gone. The Quilting Circle had a number of sites with a number of activities and exhibitions. The Gawler Quilting Circle had exhibitions at the Gawler and Barossa Jockey Club and at other locations. They also had an exhibition called Spring into Quilts with a whole range of quilting materials. The Embroiders Guild had an exhibition at the South Australian Country Women's Association in Tod Street, and Kornacraft, suppliers of a lot of quilting material, had an exhibition called Say it with Flowers, and the Zion Quilters had a theme of Country Fabric 'n' Things, and there were other events as well. This event just highlights the various textile industries in our community and how community organisations can help them to flourish. I would also like to put on the record my congratulations to Dr Bruce Eastick, who until recent times was, amongst other things, the Chairman of the Gawler Community Retirement Homes. I would like to thank the Gawler Community Retirement Homes for the important work it does in providing accommodation to seniors, particularly those people who have low incomes, and making sure that people have appropriate accommodation. An occasion was held to announce the naming of the Bruce Eastick Complex at the facility in recognition of Dr Bruce Eastick's 50 years' contribution to this organisation. As we know, Dr Eastick was involved in parliament—as Speaker in this place and a former member for Light, and he was also a former Mayor of Gawler—and numerous other organisations. In addition to the 50 years' contribution he has made to this organisation, his whole adult life has been of service to the community, both pre and post parliamentary service. I understand that he is turning 96 very shortly, and I would like to put on the record my birthday wishes to Dr Eastick and thank him for his unparalleled contribution to our community.