Marsden State High School rugby league

17 August 2017

Dr CHALMERS (Rankin) (13:48): Cameron Smith, Tautau Moga, Chris Sandow and Antonio Winterstein all have one thing in common: they are all graduates of Marsden State High School in my electorate. I wanted to give a parliamentary shout-out to that great school today, because on Wednesday I will be going along to Redcliffe Dolphins to watch them play in the grand final of the Queensland schoolboys competition against Keebra Park. I want to congratulate my mate Andrew Peach, the principal of that school, and also the coach Joe O'Callaghan and the players and all the students, who have been doing such a terrific job.

I also wanted to alert the House to something even more special which is happening at Marsden State High School, and that is a program called MTC, which stands for Mates Talk Change. It is a mental health program that the Rugby League guys started but all the students participate in. It is led by Megan Mulcahy, a really inspirational teacher. The kids get together and they talk about their mental health and they raise awareness. They have a slogan, which is, 'It ain't weak to speak.' It ain't weak to speak about your mental health. It is fantastic. It's a great thing that they do. On Wednesday they will win the Queensland schoolboys comp. I am prepared to say here that they will win. But, even if they don't, even if by a freak of nature this amazing open boys team does not win on Wednesday against Keebra Park, the Mates Talk Change program will stand as a real tribute to a great school in the best local rugby league community on the planet.