Mr BILLSON (5:51 PM) —I rise tonight to celebrate good work, to celebrate and recognise the contribution of the Mount Erin Secondary College, many of its dedicated professionals and the band of very committed people who work with the Operation Newstart program that is administered through Mount Erin Secondary College. A few weeks back, I had the opportunity to attend the graduation ceremony for the fourth intake of the program. These young people between 14 and 18 from the Frankston City area come to be involved with the Mount Erin Secondary College's Operation Newstart because they are having difficulty fitting in with the educational environment—there are some challenges that are before them as people and in their lives that make their full involvement in the educational curriculum difficult.

Those young people are involved in a program that over a period of 10 weeks takes them through issues that are in their lives. It helps them adjust to the educational environment and delivers to them new skills and new respect for themselves and for the opportunities that are afforded to them so they can make the best of those opportunities and make a go of their lives. The people who are involved with this program include the Police High Ropes Challenge; Mr Paul Kill, the tireless coordinator of the program; Jeff Halmaric, from the Victorian Police; and others within the region, both at an educational level and in the human services area. They are supported by people from industry, including Brian Goodman, from the Australian Chamber of Commerce, Troy Flanagan, from RMIT, plus a host of other dedicated people who are all making a go of this program.

Of the seven young people who were involved in intake four, six were successful in that they were able to return to the school environment, get involved in a TAFE program, take up an apprenticeship or find a job. That is a 90 per cent success rate for people who are finding it hard because of the experiences they have had or the challenges that confront them. They are making a go of their lives.

One of the great things the program seeks to do is to get people back on track. So while the coalition government is getting us financially back on track, Operation Newstart is helping young people in my community get back on track. They work through the development of personal skills. They gain qualifications. They build their confidence and self-esteem. They tackle some issues, such as substance abuse, that may be limiting their potential.

I would like to celebrate, in particular, a young man who was involved in this program some time ago. He was that young gentleman who, on seeing a Vicroads worker having trouble breathing at the Flinders Street Railway Station, jumped in and applied the skills that he had learnt to save that man. That young man's name is Ben Dunmall. Ben is a young man who was involved in the program. He noticed that Victoria Met employee at the railway station, saw that he was having great difficulty and resuscitated him. That is a young man who has done something quite significant and made a profound impact on another person's life. Ben received a special lifesaving award from Ambulance of Victoria for his very particular contribution and for the application of the skills he provided.

Operation Newstart and John Burrell, who is the chairperson of it and the principal of the secondary college, should be appreciated, encouraged and rewarded. I would also like to add that the Connections Program at the Monterey Secondary College seeks to achieve the same objectives, and I would be delighted to inform the House of those at a later point in time.