Tim Owen, AM, has been accused of failing to meet his promise to the primary school at The Junction, in Newcastle. Following is a list of all the speeches he has made in Parliament regarding schools:
NEWCASTLE ELECTORATE COMMUNITY, SCHOOL AND SERVICE ORGANISATIONS
Page: 3714
Mr TIM OWEN (Newcastle) [6.50 p.m.]: I rise to inform the Parliament of the great work being done in the Newcastle electorate by various community groups. In recent weeks I have visited numerous community groups, schools and not-for-profit organisations in the Newcastle electorate and been greatly impressed by their commitment to their local community, further reinforcing why I am so proud to be the member for Newcastle.
First, over the weekend I attended the Knights v Titans rugby league match at Ausgrid Stadium. Whilst there, I and thousands of spectators were treated to the sounds of the Hamilton South Public School choir singing our national anthem. I commend the choir students and their instructor, Melissa Morr, as they did themselves proud as well as their families, friends, the Hamilton South Public School community and the city of Newcastle. Congratulations to the school on doing a great job.
[TRANSLATION: I went to the footy.]
Secondly, I met recently with staff at Newcastle's Northcott Disability Services centre. I was impressed by the enthusiastic approach that the team displayed in providing services for people with a broad range of disabilities. I have seen firsthand the hard work and dedication that this team puts in to ensure that their clients are well looked after, and I commend their work to this Parliament.
Northcott provides a broad range of services from the initial diagnosis period and early intervention through to early childhood development, and assisting adults gain employment and independent living skills. I am told that [Translation: I have not seen it first-hand], for people with disabilities, the support and services that Northcott provides can often mean the difference between a life of isolation and segregation and a life of greater self-reliance and confidence. Support and services are not only provided directly to clients but provided to their carers, siblings and the entire family. As such, I support Northcott Disability Services in its quest to build an inclusive society where people can live the life they choose and thank staff for the services they provide to the Newcastle community.
Thirdly, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service is a community owned and operated aeromedical search and rescue service serving the Hunter, Central Coast, mid North Coast, New England and north-west regions. Earlier this week I had the pleasure of touring its Newcastle base with Richard Jones, general manager at Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service. I thank Richard and his team for inviting me to the base to gain a deeper understanding of the outstanding work they do on a daily basis. As you would know, Madam Acting-Speaker, each year the helicopter service conducts over 1,200 missions, rescuing people from accident scenes and transporting critically ill patients from small rural hospitals to large tertiary hospitals, primarily John Hunter Hospital and the base hospital in Tamworth. The helicopter service provides a free service to more than one million people, covering a region of 132,000 square kilometres. As the State member for Newcastle I thank the rescue service for its outstanding contribution to our local community. I look forward to attending the upcoming Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service Ball in September and do hope that the service is able to continue raising funds to ensure the preservation of this outstanding community venture.
Finally, there are many community groups in Newcastle that strive to assist the hungry and needy. Since being elected I have been lucky enough to become involved in assisting Life Church serve the disadvantaged at their Soul Cafe in Newcastle. Soul Cafe was established in August 2002 to serve hot meals to the homeless and disadvantaged people of Newcastle, free of charge. I am told that it currently serves over 700 meals per week. I look forward to volunteering at Soul Cafe, where I have agreed that I will assist with food preparation and serving clients on a weekly basis. I commend Kevin Wilcox and his team for continuing this service for the community where people receive table service and a choice of healthy, tasty meals. Life Church's aim—to serve the disadvantaged in the community with dignity and respect—is highly commendable. Importantly, Soul Cafe also provides the services of a community support officer who assists clients in areas such as accommodation, finding appropriate welfare support and legal representation, and medical advice when required. [Time expired.]
If you examine carefully this private member's speech in the Parliament, you might notice that he has corectly described a number of seriously committed organisations that do great work - but he does not mention a single school he has visited; not one school, government, private, Catholic, independent.
The Advocate happens to know that he has been to The Junction School, but that was because he had to vote on election day and more than a thousand people voted at that school( which of couse was NOT a school on that day but a polling place.
The Advocate distrusts gossip but has heard that Tim has attended events at the Newcastle Grammar School's campuses. He appears to have left that out of his speech.
Timmy, Timmy, Timmy! You promised a demountable building. It's not a school, it's a demountable . Rio Tinto can set up 20 of them in a day.