MARK DREYFUS MP

The Carbon Farming Initiative is a key part of the Gillard government's climate change agenda. Under this scheme for the first time the federal government will help facilitate the sale of carbon credits on domestic and international markets. The scheme will begin to unlock abatement opportunities in the land sector, a sector which currently accounts for around a quarter of Australia's emissions. It will contribute to improving farm productivity, creating jobs in the regions, providing new opportunities for Indigenous communities, enhancing our biodiversity and building resilience to the impacts of climate change.

It saddens me to be again calling for the release of Gilad Shalit.

This richness is reflected at Noble Park Primary School, where most students come from a non-English-speaking background, with up to 35 languages being spoken. Just as Miss Ernst made European fairy stories into Australian stories, students at Noble Park Primary School will make their cultural traditions part of the Australian story. The stories that start at Noble Park primary are the stories of Australia's futur

The carbon farming initiative fulfils an election commitment to give farmers, forest growers and landholders access to carbon markets. By doing so, the carbon farming initiative will create new real and lasting economic opportunities for regional communities in this country.

I hear constantly from parents at these schools and I hear from people who have worked on the construction programs at each of these schools just how beneficial those buildings built under the Building the Education Revolution program have been for the schools and how beneficial they have been for employment in our local community.

The journey of the Bright Moon Buddhist Society over the past 30 years has been truly remarkable.

I rise to speak about Aaron Macdonald, a remarkable 16-year-old who lives in my electorate. Aaron received a certificate of commendation from Ambulance Victoria in October of last year. Aaron's reward was received in recognition of his quick thinking and calm temperament in averting disaster when his father, Cameron, lost consciousness while driving Aaron to school.

There is an urgent, pressing need to repair the immense damage that has been suffered in the state of Queensland.

Our communities in south-east Melbourne did not escape, with suburban streets turned into rivers, properties and cars inundated in a matter of minutes, and roads and businesses closed for days after the initial deluge.

We gather here, on International Holocaust Memorial Day, to mourn the millions of people who lost their lives in the Holocaust, to honour those who survived, and to celebrate those who rescued them. We gather to bear witness and to remember.