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North Shore Bear Pit Public Speaking Competition

Published on: September 2022

Record: HANSARD-1323879322-127240

North Shore Bear Pit Public Speaking Competition

Ms FELICITY WILSON (North Shore) (22:56:58):

As we are on an education theme this evening, recently I was proud to host in this place the sixth annual North Shore Bear Pit Public Speaking Competition. After being unable to host the event in person last year, I was heartened to see how excited this year's students and their families were at returning to the Chamber. I must say they are much better performers than anybody here. It is inspiring to see what the next generation will bring forward. I host this competition each year to encourage our local primary school students to step out of their comfort zones and challenge themselves and take on the risk of public speaking in this domain. I am particularly passionate about this competition, as I have always seen the opportunity for public speaking to resonate and express people's ideas. Vocalising them leads to making a difference.

After competing in several rounds at local schools, the finalists were able to present their speeches here in the Chamber. They spoke on a range of topics, including what makes a good friend, what they would change about the world, what makes someone a hero and what they would do if they were Premier. I am sure many members in this place would agree that not all of these topics are as easy to answer and debate at first glance. However, the students addressed these challenging issues head-on with impressive and insightful arguments well beyond what most would expect of their age.

The students spoke with passion and humour, from celebrating our emergency service heroes and environmental crusaders to tackling the cost of living. One of my favourites, which I must pass on to the Minister for Health, was installing chocolate fountains in hospitals in New South Wales. They said that would improve mental health and wellbeing through endorphins. As a lover of chocolate, I must agree. It was remarkable to see how clear and articulate they were in their delivery, speaking with such confidence and surety. I congratulate our winner and runner-up from stage two. The winner, Mila Apps from Middle Harbour Public School, spoke on what makes a good friend, and the runner-up, Andrew Micallef from St Aloysius' College, spoke on the same topic. Congratulations to our stage three winner and runner-up. The winner, Oliver Lee from St Aloysius College, spoke on "What I would do if I were Premier". The runner-up, Ruby Cameron from Middle Harbour Public School, spoke on "What I think makes someone a hero".

Congratulations to all our speakers, who did an incredible job with their speeches. Well done to all our finalists: Kabir Khaira and Erol Jackson from Neutral Bay Public School, Bethany Hickson and Archie Lund from Marist College St Mary's campus, Mitchell Ward and Harley Collier from Mosman Preparatory School, Scotch O'Connor and Jasmine Larcher from Sacred Heart Mosman, Billie McConkey and Mackenzie Maher from Blessed Sacrament Clifton Gardens, Amalie Ruberry and Aurelia Stewart from Mosman Public School, Andrew Micallef and Oliver Lee from St Aloysius College, and Ruby Cameron and Mila Apps from Middle Harbour Public School. All the students showed incredible courage and talent, standing up before a full audience in this place and a live stream going out across the community, delivering intelligent and articulate arguments. It was a testament to the effort that has been put in—particularly by their schools, the teaching staff and their wonderful families—and to their own outstanding abilities.

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I also thank and recognise the three judges, who gave of their time freely but also had an incredibly agonising job of picking from the pool of memorable speeches. After hearing those speeches, there would have been some very challenging deliberations. I am glad that I got to sit in the Speaker's chair, rather than having to adjudicate. I say a special thankyou to our very own Serjeant-at-Arms, Simon Johnston, who joined us; the editor, Stephanie Aikins; and James Mullan from the . I thank the Parliament staff who assisted on the day, including the catering team and the front desk staff. I particularly thank Peter Tuziak, who engaged our students in a wonderful mock session where they debated the sensitive issue that he raised, "Kids should not have to clean their room". I think at the end of the day those who proposed that motion were successful, to the chagrin of all of the parents watching in the Chamber and at home.

I particularly thank my electorate office team. There is a lot of work that goes into this. We do it every year and it is incredibly special. All the schools across the community are involved for many months in advance. The event would not have been possible without them. I say a special thankyou to Emily Pavey on my team, who took the lead in organising this year's event. I thank all the school staff and teachers who assisted in running this event at the school level. We know that the last couple of years have been particularly challenging for our school staff and our schoolteachers. For them to continue to be invested in this initiative is really motivating for me to continue to pursue and expand this initiative locally. The amount of effort required from them really shows that they do value it, so I thank them for all their work. I especially thank the friends and family who joined us on the day. Public speaking is a powerful and valuable tool, and it needs to be used even more by young people whose voices are not heard enough. I look forward to hosting next year's competition—hopefully, here again in this place—and hearing more incredible insights from our primary school students.