00:00Mr Speaker, I draw inspiration from Mary Gilmore. I will always fight for what is
00:05right and for the disadvantaged. I see her ethos reflected in my own community—people
00:12helping the homeless, our veterans groups, in our passionate climate change activists,
00:17our surf lifesavers, our rural firefighters, our Meals on Wheels volunteers, refugee activists,
00:24teachers and nurses. They all give so much and make our lives better.
00:30Today I honour and thank all voluntary groups and all those caring professionals that taught
00:37me that most valuable lesson of all—solidarity, mateship, whatever you call it. It's lending a
00:44hand when it's needed. It's standing together in strength. It's working together, not against
00:51each other. It's a generosity of heart. It's the way my father would drive around the local area—a
00:58dairy farmer with me alongside while he would stop and talk with everyone and offer a hand
01:03to anyone that needed help. He taught me these values. With nothing to do with politics and at
01:1139 years of age, with four young children aged nine, eight, six and five, my local council wanted
01:17to close Nowra's community swimming pool. I learned that elected representatives can get
01:23it wrong, especially when they stop listening. It's how I accidentally entered politics—a
01:29farmer's daughter, TAFE teacher, mother of four, master's student and campaigner to save the local
01:35pool. I'm pleased to say the community won that battle. The new Nowra Aquatic Park was opened in
01:412015, and it's a credit to everyone involved and to Shoalhaven Council. In the space of a
01:48single campaign, I came to understand the importance of not being a bystander, of lending a hand and
01:55standing together with my community. But it will always be a reminder for me that, in whatever we
02:02do, in whatever decisions we make or policies we aim to bring in, community and people are paramount.
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