Last week I attended the official opening of the second stage of the Remembering Courageous Women Mosaic Mural in Gawler. Minister Hildyard was present to cut the ribbon. The mural has been supported by the Town of Gawler and Villawood Properties alongside a number of other donors to the project.
I would like to today bring to the house's attention four significant events which have occurred in my electorate over the last few days. These community events are important for a whole range of different reasons, but when you hear what I have to say you will understand why they have made a contribution to our community.
I would like to make a small contribution to this debate. I will not cover the area which has been covered by many of the previous speakers already, and I do not need to repeat what they have said. In terms of my observations on the estimates committee, I had the privilege of chairing one of the committees. I think what they are designed for is sometimes misunderstood.
Today, I would like to talk about some things that obviously are important to my electorate. At the outset, I would like to say that one of the most rewarding parts of being the local MP is the various people you meet in your work. You often meet people in a whole range of different areas, from people involved in sports to people involved in arts, business, community activities, etc. While you meet a lot of people from time to time, sometimes you do not get to know the full person until, sadly, you are invited to their funeral and you hear their life story, and their life story is much bigger than the story you know about them.
Today, I would like to talk about service clubs. The reason I raise this today is that, like most members in this place, I either have attended or will be attending a number of handover dinners and other events to mark the change in leadership of our local service clubs. I have already attended two so far: the Lions Club of Gawler, of which I am a member, and also the handover event for the Rotary Club of Gawler Light.
I rise to speak in support of this amendment bill, the Burial and Cremation (Interment Rights) Amendment Bill. One of the things people get really emotional about is burial places. It is obviously a time of grief when people bury members of their family or friends. While that grief goes away, the connection to that place and also to that person is very important, so when those places are in some way interfered with, it does generate a lot of emotion and grief again. That is right across many cultures and people with different faiths, and people with no faith. People do see places where people are buried or interred as places of sanctity; in other words, they are places that need to be held in a great deal of respect.