Thursday, 6 February 2025

 Colin BROOKS (Bundoora – Minister for Industry and Advanced Manufacturing, Minister for Creative Industries) (10:29): I rise to today to give a shout-out to the students and staff at Kingsbury Primary School, one of the great primary schools in my electorate. The year 6 graduation dinners at Kingsbury Primary are always great events, and last year’s celebration was no exception. I appreciated the opportunity to personally address the Kingsbury Primary School class of 2024 and to present an award to one student in particular, Ehaan, who went above and beyond to demonstrate commendable leadership in his school community. I would also like to give a special shout-out to Shaun Bishop, the new principal, and all the dedicated members of the school council. The dinner was a great chance to personally congratulate Mr Bishop on his new position and to talk about the recently announced $498,000 refurbishment of some of the school facilities.

Something else that makes Kingsbury Primary School graduation dinners special is how they connect the community from outside the school gates. Deputy Speaker, as you might be aware, the suburb of Kingsbury is named after the Second World War hero Bruce Kingsbury. Bruce Kingsbury was a Victoria Cross recipient who fell in battle during the Kokoda campaign. Kingsbury Primary School maintains a special relationship with Private Kingsbury’s battalion association to this day, and it was wonderful to see this strong relationship continue, with representatives of the 2/14th Battalion Association joining to congratulate the graduating class. The volunteer members of the association are to be commended for the time and interest they maintain in the school and its students, ensuring the values that Bruce Kingsbury displayed are understood and adhered to by the students.