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- 23 February 2005
Indian Ocean Tsunami
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Page: 14083
Mr KEVIN GREENE (Georges River) [11.41 a.m.]: Yesterday the Premier moved a motion of condolence for victims of the tsunami disaster. During my speech I will focus on community fundraising events in the Georges River electorate that have been held in support of tsunami victims. In early January, Neil and Megan Saintilan, supported by Oatley Lions and Lugarno Lions, organised a tsunami picnic among the Oatley community and the support for the event was absolutely amazing. Approximately 2,000 people attended and more than $20,000 was raised, despite the event having been organised in only a few days. The amount raised, particularly in a holiday period, speaks volumes about the level of community support for the cause. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend because I was away at the time, but I know that Federal parliamentary representatives Darryl Melham and Robert McClelland attended, as well as many Hurstville city councillors.
The Lugarno Lions, which is very supportive of any charitable cause, supported the tsunami relief appeal by organising a number of bucket collections. Members of the club stood in Riverwood and Roselands shopping centres on a number of Saturday mornings, and the collection raised close to $25,000 in a period of weeks. I congratulate the club on its efforts not only in regard to support for tsunami victims but also on its overall support for charity fundraising. Recently I was the guest of Mr Harry Solomons, who is the proprietor of the Kingsgrove Sports store as well as being one of Sri Lanka's best exports to Australia. Harry runs a successful business and his support for cricket has been outstanding.
Harry invited me to attend a function organised by the Sri Lanka Cricket NSW in support of Cricket Aid. The event was attended by four very well-known Sri Lankan cricketers, Muttiah Muralitharan, Russell Arnold, Chaminda Vass and Kumar Sangkkarra, who spoke brilliantly on behalf of Sri Lanka at that function. The guest speaker for the function was Mr Alan Jones, the well-known radio commentator. Alan was an outstanding keynote speaker, despite having been invited to participate at very short notice, and demonstrated great empathy not only for the Sri Lankan people but for people through the whole region who suffered the impact of the tsunami. I congratulate the President of the New South Wales Sri Lankan Cricket Association, Mr Palitha Wijesena, on the organisation of the event. It was also great to witness the strong support for the event from Cricket NSW, which was represented by executive members Mr Bruce Collins and Mr Jon Jobson. Cricket NSW donated $75,000 to the appeal and the funds raised will spent on an orphanage and on repairing villages, particularly around the Galle area.
Harry Solomons also organised a walk in Centennial Park to support the Sri Lankan relief appeal. Although his first attempt was washed out on one of the few days that Sydney had rain, Harry typically backed up and eventually raised many thousands of dollars in support of his Sri Lankan community. On Saturday the St George Central Rotary Club will hold a Balinese function at the Marana Hall in support of tsunami relief and I hope that the function also attracts enormous community support. It is a great privilege to be able to inform the House about charity fundraising events that have been held in the Georges River electorate in support of tsunami disaster relief. The tsunami was a tragedy that touched all of us and I take great consolation from being able to report on the community spirit and support for victims that is widespread in the Georges River electorate.
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