I had the recent great pleasure to welcome students from Koshigaya, Japan, to parliament to celebrate the 39th anniversary of the Koshigaya-Campbelltown sister city agreement. We had over 25 students and their teachers in parliament, and it was a really great pleasure to talk to them, show them around and hear their comments about the Macarthur electorate, Campbelltown and our parliament, and their expectations of their visit to Australia. We had great discussions on their thoughts about Australia, about government in Australia, about Campbelltown and about parliament, as well as on their interest in Australian flora and fauna, because they'd just been on a visit to the zoo in Sydney the day before seeing me last Thursday.

Sister city programs are beneficial to both nations. They broaden community understanding and appreciation for cultures and customs of other nations. Those certainly blossomed with the Koshigaya-Campbelltown sister city agreement.

In 1989, the people of Koshigaya gifted Campbelltown Arts Centre a wonderful teahouse, which is now in the middle of our sculpture garden, and we, in turn, gave them gifts of some Australian birds. I look forward to seeing this special relationship blossom, and, in particular, I'm looking forward to the 40th anniversary of our arrangement next year. I look forward to seeing more students from Japan coming to Campbelltown and to our parliament, and vice-versa—seeing our students from Campbelltown visiting Japan. I thank the wonderful students and their teachers who help us remember— (Time expired)