ADJOURNMENT

Dr FREELANDER (Macarthur) (19:35): Let's celebrate teachers! Throughout our lives, we come across several people who leave an impression on us, who guide us and instruct us towards becoming better people. Each of us will have varying individuals in mind from our own unique experiences.

However, I'm certain that we all at some point think of that teacher or teachers who left an incredible mark on our lives, a teacher who delivered motivation or inspiration in times of difficulty, or who shaped a tedious subject into something enjoyable and manageable or who simply helped steer us throughout our school journey. No matter what the reason, we all have those special teachers who helped us turn into what and who we are today.

With World Teachers' Day approaching, I'd like to say to the teachers of Australia, and particularly to those in my electorate of Macarthur where we have 80 schools, two simple but meaningful words: thank you. Thank you for being the mentor, the coach and sometimes the parental figure that young people need now more than ever. We know that many students have their own personal battles they are dealing with each day they attend school, from mental health difficulties, anxieties over their academic performance and their professional futures to issues at home.

These are issues that teachers seek to help them with every day. These issues are also true for teachers who must manage their own personal matters. It's a heavy burden to carry, however, for many students and their families.

It's not immediately visible what their teachers are going through. That is why I believe it's important to say thank you to our teachers for everything they do. As someone who spent much of their professional life working in health care, I understand the profound effect and impact that education has on the trajectory of people's lives.

I've cared for many, many young people in my electorate of Macarthur. Education gives people opportunity. It gives them confidence, and it provides them with the skills to participate fully in society and to be productive members of society.

Behind every student who succeeds is a family and very often a teacher who believed in them and supported them. I'd like to take this opportunity to celebrate Mrs Tammy Anderson, the principal at Briar Road Public School in my electorate of Macarthur, who has received national recognition for her work—and rightfully so. Through her determined efforts to analyse and improve NAPLAN results in literacy in her school, attendance rates and learning outcomes have soared for both teachers and students.

Tammy has helped to deliver an astonishing turnaround for the Briar Road community. Just this evening, Tammy received a teaching fellowship at the 2026 Schools Plus Teaching Awards here in Parliament House. Congratulations to her for all her hard work.

She's developed a team at Briar Road Public School that believes in what they're doing. They're profoundly changing the lives of the kids in the school and also their families. I support her and congratulate her for that.

Both Minister Clare and I have met with Tammy, both here in Parliament House and at a visit to Briar Road School last week. We congratulated Tammy and we thanked her for the incredible work she is doing. We also thanked her team for the incredible work they are doing with kids from often very disadvantaged backgrounds.

They work in the best possible way to get the best possible results. Tammy and her wonderful teachers and staff at Briar Road Public School are a beacon of educational excellence and opportunity. I'm very proud and grateful for their work in Macarthur.

I'm also proud of the work that our federal Labor government has done and continues to do across the educational spectrum and particularly for Macarthur schools. I thank Jason Clare, the Minister for Education, for his incredible leadership in this space. Macarthur region schools have benefited from our Capital Grants Program funding, which has delivered over $15 million in capital investment for many schools in the Macarthur region, and from the Schools Upgrade Fund, which has delivered over $3.5 million for upgrades to outdoor learning spaces, sports equipment and repairing school facilities across 11 Macarthur schools.

I continue to work with the federal and New South Wales governments and their respective departments of education to advocate for better outcomes for our schools, which in turn means better outcomes for our students and for our teachers, and also better productivity in our communities. I support our teachers. I am very grateful to have had wonderful support from teachers in my own life, and I support teachers across the country for the excellent work they're doing in improving the lives of our students.