Ms HALL (9:46 AM) —I would like to bring to the attention of the House a different aspect of Christmas. The Anglican Church at Belmont North, with the support of local businesses both small and large, prepared a sights and sounds of Christmas display for people of the area. It was assisted by other churches in the area and the parishioners all worked very hard to prepare everything from making costumes to 1,000 calico take home bags for children. They prepared all the props, the electrical work and the scenery and they hand made items for the children that attended.

Last Friday night, I visited the church and saw the sights and sounds of Christmas. It really demonstrated to me the true meaning of Christmas and how, if a community works together, it can show its strengths. The sights and sounds of Christmas were set up in five sections. The first section highlighted the pressures and the commercialisation of Christmas and how people are being forced to just think of buying presents and are not thinking and caring about each other, which is the meaning of Christmas. The next section looked at the importance of the Christmas tree. There was then a section showing the contrast between Christmas in Australia and Christmas in Latvia and, Anna, who is from Latvia, described for the people attending what Christmas is like in Latvia. Then it went on to a scene with two Santa Clauses—one very fat and rotund Santa who had been delivering presents and the other Santa who was very thin and was very sad because he was not able to deliver as many presents as he would like to those children that were living in poverty. The last section was a nativity scene, which emphasised caring and looking after everyone in our community.

One thousand children from the various schools in the area and 270 adults visited the sights and sounds of Christmas. There were students from Belmont North, Redhead, Jewells, Blacksmiths and Lakeside special school. Everybody that attended enjoyed it and came away with a different idea of Christmas and they were able to focus on the importance of caring for everyone in the community, and on what Christmas is all about. I thank and congratulate the church.