Lucy's Book Club

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (15:18): Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I rise today for the inaugural edition of Lucy's Book Club. It is an opportunity to talk in the parliament about creative locals in our community who are published poets, authors and experts in their field. I would like to acknowledge these talented individuals in the gallery today and thank them for coming in to parliament.

My first book that I want to share today is Pimata by Doris Falidis Nickolas. Doris is a Greek Australian-born author and poet who grew up in a loving and traditional Greek family background in Adelaide, South Australia. Doris published her first book, Life Has Two Doors, in 2016, followed by the Greek edition in 2019.

Tragically, Doris lost her beloved eldest son, Angelo, in June 2022. He was aged only 32. Through this time of grief, Doris put pen to paper and began writing poetry. Her latest book, Pimata, is a compilation of beautiful poems and a heartwarming reminder that you are not alone in this time of grief. I want to share some words from Pimata with the house. This poem is called Because of You:

I placed my hand into yours

One step, two—twirl me around.

The dance floor ours, our steps in sync

I felt like Diana

waltzing with her Prince.

The most cherished moment in time

as 'You to Me Are Everything' played in harmony

The words captivating as we circled about.

The stars

sparkling

on that breath-taking October night.

When you became an adoring husband

to the most incredible girl

gorgeous

stars so bright.

My beautiful, beautiful, darling boy

you are my all.

Never ever

have I felt greater happiness

the luckiest mother

because of you.

I thank Doris for her bravery and for sharing her talent with others, which I am sure would help them in their time of suffering or loss. Your angel, Angelo, would be so very proud.

My next guest is Adjunct Professor David A. Ness, and he has the book The Impact of Overbuilding on People and the Planet. David is an expert on adaptive reuse, which involves repurposing an existing structure for new use, such as turning vacant office buildings into apartments. David played a key role in the UN report on CO₂ emissions relating to buildings, construction and urban growth. This underpinned 'The Buildings Breakthrough' official launch at COP28 in Dubai—a group of countries led by France and Morocco, with a view to making near-zero emissions and climate-resilient buildings the new normal by 2030.

David promotes discussion of sufficiency policies that constrain the amount of new construction to meet genuine needs, while promoting adaptive reuse. To quote David, his book:

…questions the ethics, equity and sustainability of continued growth of the building stock in industrialised context amid diminishing demand, whilst the developing world is deprived of basic resources and infrastructure…More socioeconomic value may be derived from built resources by their stewardship, adaptation, reuse and equitable sharing, while ameliorating the adverse impacts of overconsumption.

Our upbringing and experiences as children often influence our values, so I found David's book incredibly interesting when he describes his post-WWII upbringing. He writes how his middle-class parents struggled to make ends meet, the resourcefulness of his mother sewing and repairing clothes, the many meals of tripe on the dinner table and how his father took on second jobs, such as bookkeeping, to support his family.

He mentions in his book a favourite adage by environmentalist, Dr Barbara Hardy, who said, 'Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without'. David's frugal upbringing has clearly influenced his area of expertise, his writings and how he lives his life. Whilst there are many differing opinions in this space around development and urban design, I very much appreciate his expertise and perspective in this area. Thank you, David for being here.

Last but not least, I wanted to highlight another talented creative in our community, Maeve Archibald. Maeve grew up on a sheep farm near Bathurst in New South Wales—

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Member for Adelaide, can I just interrupt for a second. We will hold the clock. I just remind all members that the display of objects is unparliamentary. Particularly now in the days when we video everything, it just highlights that. Thank you.

Ms HOOD: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. Maeve grew up on a sheep farm in Bathurst in New South Wales, with the bush having a profound effect on Maeve's life. She learned to read early and developed a love of books, trained as a teacher, and became a storyteller, writer and later moved to writing poetry. She is a published poet, with her first anthology, Hints of Silver, published in 2010. I want to share two of Maeve's haikus with the house today. Luckily, they are shorter.

Summer Haiku

Sunlight and blue sky

A pattern of knotted lace

The work of branches.

The next comes from Hills Poets, Ripples, published by Ginninderra Press, Port Adelaide:

The scarecrow

Kimono-clad

Strikes a pose

On the hillside

A small temple

The overseer

The escarpment

A washing line

Hung on the sky

Thank you again to my guests for coming in today for the inaugural Lucy's Book Club, and I look forward to bringing more editions to the parliament soon.