Today I wish to acknowledge the volunteers behind the Heaven Can Wait – Charity Sailing Regatta, who for nearly two decades have filled their sails with the winds of generosity and raised desperately needed funds for their beneficiaries, Cancer Council NSW and Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie. This past year they have exceeded all previous efforts

Lake Macquarie is home to one of Australia's best mountain bike parks, namely the Awaba Mountain Bike Park, which is run and maintained by the Hunter Mountain Bike Association. Recently the Association hosted the 2024 GWM Mountain Bike National Championships, an event which attracted more than 1000 of Australia's best riders with junior,

I would like to acknowledge the remarkable achievements and dedication to music education of Trish O'Hearn, musical director of Catalina Brass and Principal cornet of Toronto Brass. Trish is an extremely accomplished musician and has had a star-studded career working alongside music legends such as James Morrison who just last year, she enlisted

Figure skating is one of the most physically demanding sports there is, as it requires participants to not only have excellent physical fitness, but also balance, strength, timing and coordination skills. I'm proud to say that Lake Macquarie is home to one of Australia's top young ice skaters, with 14-year-old Elise McLean recently taking

I would like to congratulate the extremely talented Emma Dundas from Awaba, who at just 16-years of age has secured a full two-year contract with the Newcastle Jets A-League Women's side. Emma is the fourth Jets women's player to be offered a multi-year contract, after playing with the Women's A-League side in the 2023 – 2024 season.

I was recently invited to be the guest speaker at a Lions Club of Toronto meeting, and while I enjoyed talking with members about the big things happening in Lake Macquarie, I was blown away to hear about the good work they have been doing for the most vulnerable members of our community. Under the Club's Eat Up Lunches program, members

I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the newly elected primary school leadership team at Avondale School. Alannah Morton and Samuel Renshaw have won the respect and trust of their peers, and have been elected as the 2024 school captains. They both have excellent leadership skills, and I am sure they will strive to represent Avondale

Being elected to a high school leadership position is an honour and is the ultimate vote of confidence in these young people's ability to lead the student body and represent their school with integrity. I would like to congratulate Avondale School's newly elected, 2024 leadership team. Caleb Morton has been elected as a School Captain, he

I would like to extend my congratulations to the newly elected 2024 Captains of St Paul's Catholic College Booragul. This school has an excellent reputation in the Lake Macquarie community, of providing a quality education that challenges students to reach their full potential. Kirrily Boslem, Jian Grasso, Lucas Walz and Kasey Crebert form the

I would like to extend my congratulations to the newly elected student leaders at Charlton Christian College. The 2024 Senior School Student Leadership team includes Jacob Ashley Brown, Vienna Chalmers, Abbey Craig, Liam Hyslop, Mia Hyslop and Mia Lozanovski. Middle School Student Leaders include Jakob Callaghan, Jameson Duvollet, Niamh Faithful,