Ms SPENCE (Yuroke) — I rise to congratulate students at primary and secondary schools in the Yuroke electorate who will soon conclude their schooling and move on to other secondary schools and the next phase of their lives, and to also congratulate students who have been nominated for the 2016 Yuroke award.

This is a momentous time for any young person and their loved ones, particularly students who are graduating from secondary school, as they start their lives as adults by entering tertiary education or the workforce. One such student in my electorate is Thomas Pastras who, despite facing some personal difficulties, graduated from Kolbe Catholic College last week. Well done, Thomas, your family and friends are very proud of all your achievements.

Each year I invite schools to nominate an outstanding student to receive the Yuroke award. This is a tradition started by my predecessor, Liz Beattie, and is a great way to recognise students for a wide variety of reasons, including academic or sporting achievement, overcoming adversity or making a notable contribution to their school community. I congratulate all those who have been nominated this year, including Ishita Singh, Ara Alcazar, Paris McFarland, Reegan Miller, Vicki Haitidis, Ethan Forryan, Christian Zoiti, Hirani Nair and Alyvia Italiano, on being recognised by their schools this year. I would also like to particularly note Jet Yang who, despite facing some very serious difficulties in his personal life, is graduating from Craigieburn Secondary College this year. Well done and best wishes to Jet.

Sincere congratulations to all the students in the Yuroke electorate. I very much look forward to visiting many schools in the coming weeks and meeting graduating students.