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Thursday, 23 June 2011
Page: 7129

Mr CRAIG KELLY (Hughes) (13:52): Yesterday, 91 students from Holsworthy Public School visited parliament for their senior school excursion to the ACT, which included a trip to Perisher Valley, where they had great fun throwing snowballs at their teachers. Among these special visitors were the members of the school's 2011 student parliament. The program is an integral part of the school's student leadership and development policy. It gives the students a genuine say in how their school is run.

This unique program at Holsworthy Public School is in its 16th year of operation and has a proud record of assisting in the development of local students' debating skills, speech making, logical argument, critical thinking, and understanding how Australia is governed and how our laws are made. The Holsworthy student parliament includes the annual election of two prime ministers and a cabinet of 10 ministers, covering the portfolios of Events, Sport, Environment, Technology and Health and Safety.

It was great to catch up with kids from Holsworthy Public School again, and their conduct and thirst for knowledge is a great credit to principal Wayne Roberts and the rest of the staff. And I would like to congratulate their prime ministers, Elly Catt and Kieran Sheva-Kumaran, and their team on the wonderful work they have been doing this year. The leadership team seemed at home here in Parliament House, and it is only a matter of time before Holsworthy produces their first federal parliamentarian—hopefully sitting on the right side of the House!