I move:              

That this House:              

(1) notes that:              

(a) October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and that Monday, 26 October 2015 is Pink Ribbon Day; and              

(b) breast cancer remains the most common cancer in Australian women and the second most common cancer to cause death in Australian women;              

(2) calls on the Government to:              

(a) support Breast Cancer Awareness Month;              

(b) promote early detection; and              

(c) encourage women, especially women aged 50 to 74 years, to have a mammogram every two years; and              

(3) acknowledges:              

(a) the invaluable work done by the National Breast Cancer Foundation and the Breast Cancer Institute of Australia, especially in supporting important research into treatment and a cure;              

(b) the fundraising efforts of the broader community and pays tribute to the significant contribution the Australian public makes to the overall fundraising effort; and              

(c) the heroic efforts of the women, men and their families who have experienced the breast cancer journey.

I wish to address budget measures associated with the Attorney-General's portfolio—in particular, the measures that are designed to keep Australians safe from the threat of terrorism. I want to look at two particular programs: the $40 million allocation over a four-year period for investment in programs aimed at countering violent extremism; and the $21 million over four years for programs announced in February this year which are aimed at developing new measures to challenge terrorist propaganda online.The federal seat of Calwell is one of those electorates that, for better or for worse, are focus of a lot of attention from the government in relation to keeping Australia safe from terrorists and extremist propaganda. That has been the case in my electorate for over the last decade or so, so we are pretty familiar with being the centre of attention for a whole series of government services. But this one is of particular concern to us. 

Last Wednesday I attended a family violence forum in my electorate. The forum was organised by my two state members, the member for Broadmeadows and the member for Yuroke. Its purpose was to facilitate input from our community in the form of a submission to the Royal Commission into Family Violence. The Royal Commission into Family Violence was established by the Victorian government as part of its election commitment to tackle this very dangerous and prevalent form of violence perpetrated against women and children in our community.

I am very privileged today to congratulate a very special constituent of mine from Keilor Downs, Mr Bharpur Singh, who recently celebrated his 100th birthday. I had the honour of meeting Bharpur the other day, when he came into my office just to say hello. Bharpur was born in India in 1915 and married the love of his life, his wife, Gian Kaur, in 1934. Together they have six children, four boys and two girls, all of whom are, I am told, professionals with postgraduate university degrees. Three of the children are citizens and permanent residents of Australia. They have 16 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren. Bharpur Singh is multilingual and he can fluently read, write and speak English, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu and Persian.               

In July 1985 Bharpur migrated to Australia with his wife, Gian. He was 70 years of age. On his arrival Bharpur wasted no time in dedicating himself to his local community and helping others, irrespective of race, culture or origin. In fact, he has thrived in Australia's multicultural community and is very happy to have made the decision to come here. Mr Singh was also involved in establishing a number of senior citizens clubs and associations, and he served on the foundation committee of the Sikh gurdwara in Craigieburn in my electorate of Calwell.              

He is very technologically savvy. When I asked him what the secret to life and longevity was, he said to me that he actually has no secret. He simply believes in peace of mind, living, obeying the law and just basically being very happy. Congratulations, Mr Singh.

It was my pleasure on Saturday to open the Victorian branch of the Australian Relief Organisation. This is a philanthropic organisation which was established in New South Wales in 2012. It is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation involved in development, relief and advocacy projects and activities in Australia and overseas. ARO's mission statement specifically declares that their activities are aimed at helping people in need without regard to race, gender, age, religion or social status. This is a mission statement that I can strongly support, and I was very pleased to open their Victorian chapter.