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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-11-29 Daily Xml
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COMMUNITY GROUPS

Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (15:45): Today I want to pay tribute to two organisations in my electorate that combine the enthusiasm of youth and the wisdom and experience of the elders of our community. The first one is to congratulate all involved in TS Noarlunga on the presentation of the Navy League of Australia's Perpetual Trophy for the most efficient navy cadet unit in Australia.

The criteria for the award included parade and ceremonial work and participation in community events. Certainly the environment of my electorate has benefited by the work of the cadets who have joined me in recent years to clean up a site of Christie Creek on Clean Up Australia Day, and the support of the community, which was demonstrated by the many community organisations, parents and friends, as well as local members of state and federal parliament, local government and the RSL who have shown commitment to and support for the cadets of TS Noarlunga, ably led by their commanding officer, Lieutenant David Lyas.

The ceremony was very impressive, indeed. The invited guests included the Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, the Hon. David Feeney; the Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Raymond Griggs; the National Commander of Australian Navy Cadets, Captain John Gill; and Commanding Officer Navy Headquarters South Australia, Commodore Allan Williams.

If I read all the people who were invited I would not have time to acknowledge the cadets themselves who put on an excellent display of parade for the day and have always shown self-discipline, self-confidence, their ability to learn new skills, their ability to respond appropriately in tricky situations, enthusiasm for what they are doing, support for each other and respect for the institutions of Australia.

The cadet unit includes cadet midshipman Alicia Wilson; petty officer, Jason Gabel; petty officer, Isabella Walton; leading seamen, Scott Barber, Brandon Kennedy, Lauren Tschirpig, Keri Ward and Krystelle Winn; able seaman, Sara Manikhy and seamen David McCormack, Liam Doherty, Luana Kidney, Charles Rundle, Logan Myers, Luke Myers and Lucy Dodson, together with recruits Daniel Harding, Hannah Kent, Dylan Lawrence, Steffanie Roberts, Zen Du Preez and Jayden Van Der Westhuizen.

In talking to one of the mothers of one of these cadets at another function at which I encountered her, she said that her son had changed remarkably as a result of his involvement in the cadets; that he had matured and was more willing to participate in things, as well as taking on responsibility that she had not expected.

The other organisation that I want to celebrate today is the Sammy D foundation which recently held its annual general meeting. This meeting recognised another successful year by the Sammy D foundation which was started only a few years ago after the tragic death of Sam Davis by one hit at a party at Somerton Park. His parents, Nat Cook and Neil Davis, decided that Sam's memory would not be forgotten and that his death would not be in vain.

They have been joined in their efforts since by many of Sam's friends and his sister, Sheree Davis, and have continued to develop programs that young people and their parents find extremely relevant. They are led by Nat and Neil who recently welcomed the arrival of new baby, Sid, and we are all very joyful for them on that occasion. The practical approach that Nat and Neil show and their ability to communicate easily with young people has engaged thousands of young people now and caused them to think about the consequences of their action.

We know that young people all think they are immortal and all think that they are totally impervious to any sort of harm, but the lesson from Neil and Nat about the death of their son has shown young people how vulnerable they can be, and the evaluation of their program shows consistently that young people have changed their attitudes as a result of the presentation and that even six months later there is still evidence of their changing attitudes to responsibility and care of others.

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