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House of Assembly - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-03-14 Daily Xml
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GAWLER LIONS CLUB YOUTH OF THE YEAR

Mr PICCOLO (Light) (15:32): Today I would like to bring to the house's attention a couple of events in my electorate which showcase not only our young people but also the women in our community. The first event I would like to talk about is the Gawler Lions Youth of the Year award which was held recently. The award was won by two Trinity College students and they shared an award whereby they can become a winner for the whole state. Jessica Rowley won the John Hillier Memorial Youth of the Year award while Georgia Tyler took out the club's Public Speaker award.

It is incredibly inspiring to see these young people like Jessica and Georgia do great things in their community and to see them rewarded. Interestingly, these young people do not complain about the problems they see: they take the initiative and go out and solve those problems. They are an absolute credit to their community. Fellow Trinity student Declan Stimson and Gawler High School students Jarrah Mik and Aden Heinis were also highly commended.

Jessica delivered an insightful speech about the power of music to change people's lives and influence society. Georgia spoke passionately about how we need to confront mental health more honestly by creating an environment where people can talk about it more freely. Jarrah spoke about how he came to develop a love for mathematics as he sought answers to how ordinary things in life work. Gawler High School student leader, Aden, provided his view about how leadership can be learnt and how success comes from hard work, while Declan put a strong case as to why Australia should become a republic.

The speeches were extremely impressive and demonstrated a great deal of research, thought and insight into their topics. The students displayed a great maturity in the views they expressed way beyond their age. The judges (Bruce Williamson, Helen Hennessy and Peter Symes) were unanimous in their praise of the speeches. I would like to thank the members of the Gawler Lions Club for hosting the event. The Lions Youth of the Year Quest aims to select one outstanding individual to be an Australian ambassador, with the opportunity to travel overseas under the auspices of Lions Club International.

Another event I attended and would like to mention briefly today is the recent Gawler International Women's Day event. This year, the guest speaker at the event was cardiologist Margaret Arstall. She is the University of Adelaide and Harvard-educated Director of Cardiology at the Lyell McEwin Hospital and is an expert in all things heart related. The Lyell McEwin Hospital is particularly lucky to have a person of her calibre. It is interesting that Dr Arstall, apart from now being the Director of Cardiology at the hospital, was also born there many years ago when her family first came to live at Elizabeth.

Dr Arstall is an exceptional role model for young women who, through her work and personal values, inspires young women to strive for greatness in their life. The International Women's Day event is a celebration organised by a group of women from the Gawler Country Women's Association, headed by Linda Bertram. The group draws its membership from a broad range of women's organisations in the community.

The day was formally opened by the former Youth Parliament governor, Samantha Mitchell, who I think at one stage used to work for the member for Schubert. One of the highlights of the day was a debate undertaken by young women from the local secondary schools and colleges. The two teams, comprising students from Gawler High, Trinity College and Xavier College, debated whether Facebook has a negative impact on young girls' lives.

I would like to acknowledge the students, who did an outstanding job in the debate. The students were Bianca Lane-Sullivan, Rosalie Hoff, April Sanderson, Nicole Bradley, Amanda Nuhoma, Danni-Lee Josey Prior and Kiara Appleby. The debate was organised by Judy Gillett-Ferguson and Naomi Arnold-Reschke. I congratulate the Gawler Country Women's Association for holding the event.

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