Ms ANNETTE ELLIS (1:57 PM) —My congratulations to you, Mr Speaker, on your election to your office. In my electorate I have a Burns Club—in fact, one of the largest in the world. They very proudly sponsor a Burns Club Pipe Band. It is my pleasure to tell this House that, over the last two years, the members of that band did some fairly serious fundraising and managed to get enough money together to send a group of nearly 200 people to Scotland a couple of months ago for the world championship pipe band competition. They sent a second grade and fourth grade band across. The second grade band, amongst other things, won a fourth place. The fourth grade band won a first place. They had an extremely successful tour of Scotland, around Glasgow, Perth and Crieff, just north of Perth, and came back not only having achieved a great deal of success but also having represented my community extremely well.

Of course, the thing that makes it even better for me is that this band, under Pipe Major Athol Chalmers, actually runs a college to ensure that young pipers and young drummers are encouraged to take up their musical talent with pipe band music. With that group of 200 were included several very young students who are now budding pipers and drummers of the future. I would like to endorse to the House the very great success of the Burns Club Pipe Band at that competition. (Time expired)