CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Ms SCRYMGOUR (Lingiari) (16:57): Member for Groom, thank you for sharing that; that was fantastic. To Charlotte and Millie: good on you. That was fantastic.

I want to talk about a special part of my electorate, the Indian Ocean Territories. The Indian Ocean Territories are a truly beautiful place, full of diversity, a strong sense of community and a rich natural beauty which draws people to visit from all over the world. They are also some of the most remote communities in Australia.

I recently completed a five-day visit to Christmas Island, meeting with community members and hearing from people about the highs and lows of living on the island. On the evening I arrived in the community, they put on an extremely gracious and moving welcome ceremony. It was a beautiful display of their community and their cultural heritage, including a traditional lion dance as well as a kompang and silat.

Thank you to Suzanne Chan, Shah-Shah Zainal, Azmi Yon, Bobby Asmad, Azli Albashri and Chris Su for supporting the young dancers and keeping your culture so strong. I met with the Christmas Island Health Centre and heard directly from nurses and staff about some of the challenges in delivering health care in such a remote part of the world. I thank the manager, Stephanie, for facilitating our great conversations and give a huge thankyou to the staff at the centre, who go above and beyond their community.

I visited the Christmas Island school and met with the deputy principals, Tina, Amy and Sarah. The school is an incredible success story and a testament to the value the community places on education. The day care on the island is an extension of this, and I say thank you to the committee who look after the future of the centre as well as to the workers, Mahani and Adiwaya.

I met with power and water workers who keep the island ticking and community powered. Their work is invaluable. There was a young man named Adi, who was looking for housing and working hard to get ahead, and also the hardworking manager, Pang Kee Li-Et, who helped lead the station.

We had a great conversation with the Union of Christmas Island Workers. I thank all the union members who gave me their time and give a special thankyou to the secretary of the union, Gordon Thomson. I finished my visit by meeting with the amazing and longstanding Christmas Island Women's Association.

I say thank you to President Jessica Seet and Deputy President Sau Peng. I also say thank you to the administrator, Farzian Zainal, for helping to facilitate this visit and for all the incredible work she does advocating not just for Christmas Island but also for the Cocos Islands. The Indian Ocean Territories are one-of-a-kind.

They persevere in the face of some big challenges, but they also come together to look after one another.