Mrs GASH (5:05 PM) —I want to outline what is mostly a positive story, with only a little bit of grievance. I am very pleased to see that the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is at the table and will hear some of these positive messages.

During the break, a number of events highlighted the lessons to be learned from young people in my Gilmore electorate. The first was when 56 representatives from a third of the schools in Gilmore came to have morning tea with me in my office. It was a bit of a squash, but not just physically: it was also difficult to get all of those amazingly inquiring minds into one room. Every year I invite all the primary and secondary schools to send representatives to meet with me to discuss current affairs and how we can use leadership to change the world around us. Because so many come, we have to do this in three or four rounds.

The work of the teachers is obviously paying off. The calibre of the students' participation was excellent. They quickly picked up the theme of leadership and how to make change, and they certainly ran with it. In that room we worked on all sorts of issues, and I was impressed by the breadth and depth of knowledge and ideas. Everyone listened to what others had to contribute and, instead of pulling their ideas down, constructively commented on what might improve each idea. We actually had a discussion that looked at many sides of each topic and gave them all the same weight. There was almost no polarisation in debate because there were rarely only two sides to any question. I was astounded at their knowledge of both local and national issues.

We in parliaments, at all levels, could take a lesson from these young people. Whilst this kind of debate does indeed go on in our committee work, the public rarely get to see or understand this work: all they see is the spectacle of parliamentary question time each day. Everyone in my office last Friday morning learned some things and everyone got something to think about. However, rather selfishly, I probably got the most. Since that morning tea, Master Erin James, the male school captain of Avoca Public School, which is in the Southern Highlands part of my electorate, sent me a note of thanks saying that he had been inspired to do great things. Hopefully he might turn out to be a politician.

We talked about how every person can lead through their own actions, regardless of their appointed position in an organisation or society. We agreed that it was up to all of us to encourage right behaviour, right thinking, respect for others' points of view and responsibility for both ourselves and our community. However, there was one disappointment: not one in the group wanted to become a politician. Reasons given were that no-one likes you when you become a politician; you have to work too hard; the hours are too long. They really did not know much about what a politician actually does. There is an opening for us here: we need to tell them more about what we do. If we do not, no-one may be coming on to replace us as politicians in the future.

The very next day I went to watch a game of rugby league in Gerringong, another part of my electorate. The Gerringong Lions is a club that involves the entire community. The community provides uniforms; it also provides insurance for the players, the coaches and the trainers and their staff. But nobody is paid. Everybody is a volunteer. Everyone is of equal importance and of the same value. Mr Deputy Speaker, you could say that they all get the same pay: the satisfaction of a job well done. They also get the support and camaraderie of the hundreds of people who make up the Gerringong Lions as well as that of the wider community. There must be something in it. We have players driving sometimes hundreds of miles back to Gerringong to train and play every week. Each level of player supports those playing at levels above and below him. For instance, it is great to see the first graders make the effort to come and watch the under-sevens play and stay all the way through to the game of the under-18s. They all support one another on and off the field. They give good advice and shout encouragement from the sideline.

The emphasis here is on teamwork at every level and all through life in the community. This can be seen at their social functions, where the senior players make sure that the juniors and their partners are included in their conversations and are not seated separately from them. There is also a strong sense of right behaviour in the club. Players and anyone else associated with the Gerringong Lions are always polite, considerate of others and well dressed. This is part of the reason why I actually sponsor the under-18s in particular and support the Gerringong Lions in general.

To the game. What a lesson in persistence the under-18 Gerringong Lions gave us. Players from the electorate of my colleague the member for Eden-Monaro were huge in comparison with ours, and a lot of the time they played the man rather than the ball. Our southern opponents were ahead for most of the match—but, each time they scored, the Lions fought back. Given my lack of football knowledge, it is unusual for me to get too involved. But by this time I was there on the sideline with everyone else, riding the emotional roller-coaster with them. Towards the final siren the other team got another try. Our heads went down and we were disheartened and sure that the Lions were out of time. But no, these under-18s regrouped and went on with the game. They were rewarded for believing in themselves and they scored again right on the bell. The score was good also because teamwork won out over brute force. Our young men believed in themselves to the end, after many of us adults had given up. They reminded me to keep going and never give up until you hear the siren and make the final score.

The third incident that involved young people was a public meeting I attended last Thursday night. The meeting was called by a group of people eager to make a point on the immigration policy. I went along to give another point of view. After the initial speeches, it was time for questions and/or comments from the floor. Mr Deputy Speaker, as you would expect, some of those questions and comments were directed at me as the local federal representative and highlighted particular issues of concern to the organising group. What surprised and disappointed me was one young fellow who asked a question that was specifically targeted at scoring points. Rather than asking for or offering information to the meeting, this young person saw himself as quite cool for asking a question to score a supposed hit. Unfortunately for him, his question was quite foolish and it was easy to point out for the audience the context which he had chosen not to take into account. But I was saddened that he had been encouraged in some way to think that the right way to act was to work with half-truths and innuendo to score a political point. Surely we have more than enough of that here in this place, and I would hope that young people would do it better when they get here.

I believe there is a message that we need to get out into the community, and that is that good decisions can only be made after excellent information is well debated and thoughtfully considered by as many people as possible. We need to encourage well informed debate and discussion skills at all levels out in the community. We also need to assist our voters in seeing themselves as decision makers and to encourage them to participate in democracy on a regular basis. We need the open-mindedness, teamwork, respect for others and dogged perseverance demonstrated by Gilmore's young people in the last week. We do not need more of the ugly personal attack, cynicism and apathy that exist today in far too many governments and communities. Congratulations to the young people coming on in Gilmore. I look forward to working with you in government and in the community well into the future.