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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-07-02 Daily Xml
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Bright Electorate

Mr SPEIRS (Bright) (15:26): I rise today to apprise the house of a number of activities and events which have been happening in the electorate of Bright lately and to put on the public record my great appreciation of the community service provided by many members of the community that I am privileged to represent.

On 19 June, I had the pleasure of attending the annual handover dinner of the Rotary Club of Hallett Cove. At the dinner, the 2014-15 club president, Grant Sibly, was praised for his role in growing club membership and ensuring the club's continued important role in many local community events. Grant's friendly persona and steady leadership have ensured the club's success for another year and I sincerely thank him and his wife Shiralee for their service to our community.

At the handover dinner, Grant stepped down and was replaced by Satish Gupta, who is entering the role for a fourth time, although his previous presidencies were with other clubs. Satish has only been a member of the Hallett Cove club for a few months, following the closure of the Marion Rotary Club, and he is to be congratulated for stepping into this role after such a short period of time in the club. It is doubtless that he brings substantial experience and networks within the Rotary movement to the club and I am sure the year of his leadership will see further growth for the club.

I would also like to pay tribute to John Myers, who has stepped down as a member of the Rotary Club of Hallett Cove following 30 years of service within the Rotary movement. John's commitment to the club and to our community has been consistent for many years and while he has made the decision to step down from active service within Rotary, I am sure he will continue to serve our community in other ways. I wish John all the best and thank him for his enduring service to our coastal communities.

The following day, 20 June, my wife, Hannah, and I had the privilege of attending another handover dinner. This time the dinner was hosted by the Lions Club of Hallett Cove and Districts. This club is one which has experienced rapid growth in recent years and now has a membership approaching 50. In these times of declining memberships within service clubs, the Lions Club of Hallett Cove provides a model based around service and fun, which can and should be followed by many other clubs to ensure their success. This club is a true success story.

At the handover dinner, the club detailed its contribution to our local community in the past year and revealed that it has contributed over $50,000 to the community. Last month, I was able to attend a cheque presentation where the club provided cheques of up to $1,000 to Hallett Cove based sporting clubs to invest in their youth development programs. In total, $6,500 was distributed to sporting clubs and $1,000 to the Hallett Cove Scout Group—an amazing effort and an example of community helping community.

At the recent handover dinner, the wonderful Jill Kimber stood down as president after serving for the past year. Jill and her husband Tom are fantastic members of the club and the Hallett Cove community. Jill's enthusiasm and commitment to the Lions movement and our local club has been amazing, and the club has enjoyed another successful year under her leadership. Its greatest achievement of 2015 is no doubt one which I have spoken about in parliament before; that is, the Anzac memorial and community Anzac Dawn Service at Hallett Cove's foreshore—a gigantic success and one the club will forever go down in history for creating.

Another event I wish to draw to the house's attention is the Biggest Morning Tea hosted by Hallett Cove stalwart Jan Cocks in aid of the Cancer Council. Each year, Jan throws open her home's doors for friends and contacts to come and enjoy a cuppa for this great cause. Thank you to Jan and her husband Graham for all they do for our community.

I would like to close on a slightly sadder note, that being the recent winding-up of the Rotary Club of Brighton. As a result of a low and ageing membership, the club decided several months ago to close its doors at the end of June and, on 27 June, held a celebration dinner to mark 43 years since its inception. I was very sorry that I was unable to attend the dinner, but I wanted to take this opportunity to place on the public record my immense gratitude to the club.

It was with some sadness that I read the club's final newsletter Rotabright last week, put together by club legend Alan Lawrie. Particular congratulations to Meredith Beaston for her work as the club's president over the 2014-15 session. The club's efforts in supporting the Brighton community will be greatly missed; however, I hope to see many of its members continuing their involvement in other Rotary clubs within the district.

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