Wednesday, 3 December 2025

 Mathew HILAKARI (Point Cook) (10:30): Congratulations to Charlie Williams and Thomas Heap for graduating from the Victorian parliamentary internship program, and thank you to the Parliament for running this program. Charlie and Thomas dedicated their efforts to providing high-quality reports into making our community a better place. Charlie’s report, Public Schools as Public Assets, spoke to how we can better use schools for the public benefit. It highlighted programs like Our Place – congrats to that program; it is terrific that it exists – and showed the possibilities of what can be done. Charlie, I can let you know that this government has announced a trial across 41 schools in Melbourne’s west and Geelong to make sure that we open them up to the community. Thank you for your report.

Thomas’s report, titled Planning for Faith and Burial Infrastructure in Melbourne’s West, spoke to the comparisons of our community with others around the nation. As Thomas wrote in his report:

Inclusive planning not only accommodates diverse practices but also strengthens civic belonging.

Thank you both for your contributions to making Victoria better.