Legislative Council, Tuesday 26 November 2024

Ms FORREST (Murchison) - Today, I wish to celebrate the achievements of a remarkable young student from Wynyard High School, Willow Cummins. Willow has achieved an incredible milestone by winning the National Legacy Junior Public Speaking competition held in Ballarat on 18 November. The National Legacy Public Speaking competition is an annual event that aims to promote public speaking skills among young people.

It is organised by Legacy, a charitable organisation dedicated to supporting the families of deceased and incapacitated veterans. The competition provides an opportunity for students to develop their oratory skills, build confidence, and engage with important social and historical topics. Willow is a student from our public education system, having attended Table Cape Primary School before Wynyard High School. She is not only the first Tasmanian public education student to claim this prestigious title, she is the first Tasmanian winner since 2006.

From a young age, Willow showed a natural inclination toward public speaking and a passion for using her voice to create change. Willow says that these interests have been supported by multiple staff members at Wynyard High and Table Cape Primary who opened up many opportunities and encouraged her to continue not just in public speaking, but in other areas as well.

After her win, Willow admitted to The Advocate newspaper that she has always been known as a big talker and always loved standing up and speaking. Willow said public speaking is one of the most common fears, but once you get going, you can talk about anything you like. She also said that her favourite thing about public speaking is that she gets to say exactly what she wants to and no-one can interrupt her; a young woman after my own heart.

Willow travelled to St Patrick's College in Ballarat, Victoria, where the competition was held, and gave her speech, 'To Survive or to Thrive,' which was inspired by the Legacy value of mateship. Her five minute speech explored themes and ideas around how the world has evolved and changed over time. Willow told The Advocate that she came up with the idea after brainstorming the topic with her parents and her drama teacher.

Delivering a two minute impromptu speech was also part of the competition. Competitors were given a topic and only five minutes to prepare the speech before presenting to the judges. She said she took the topic of energy and drew inspiration from the different energies in the classroom.

Willow sees public speaking as not merely an extracurricular activity, but as a platform for her to explore meaningful issues and to connect with others. She describes public speaking as a great way to use your voice to make change. Through this medium, she has found her passion for advocacy and envisions a future that includes studying political science, becoming a human rights lawyer, or engaging in activism. Let us watch this young woman. She also dreams of travelling and volunteering abroad where she can contribute to causes like environmental protection and supporting children in need.

Willow's other achievements are as impressive as they are inspiring. In grade seven she was a regional runner up in the Rostrum Voice of Youth competition. In grade eight she was the Voice of Youth regional winner and state runner up, competing nationally at Parliament House in Adelaide. Now in grade nine, Willow is a regional winner and state runner up of Rostrum Voice of Youth and she won the state Legacy Junior Public Speaking competition held in September before going on to win nationally.

Competing against students from across Australia, she obviously stood out to the judges. Willow's success is a shared achievement with her mentors, Wynyard High School, Table Cape Primary, and our community. She credits much of her growth to the legatees at Legacy, and the members of Rostrum who have guided her through each stage of her public speaking journey.

The principal of Wynyard High, Paul Harding, is very proud of Willow's achievements, noting she is an advocate for public students. Paul also acknowledged the amazing work of the school's dedicated teachers and staff, in particular, drama teacher and public speaking coach, Lix Walker-Speers, who said:

I'm extremely proud of how far she has come, but not surprised. Willow has said yes to every opportunity put to her. She takes on feedback and has shown incredible determination to grow and develop her skills. The content she speaks about is all her. She enjoys intelligent and rich conversations with people from all walks of life and has shown maturity beyond her years. She sets an example of striving towards goals, persistently working toward them, constantly reassessing, achieving, and setting new ones for herself. This is no different. When I spoke to her not long after her win, one of the first things she said was, 'Now, my next plan is'. Moving forward, I would like to see her using her voice to impact policy change. We would love to see her on the Youth Advisory Board as well as in spaces where her views on equality and inclusion can be shared.

Willow's story is a shining example of what our young people can achieve when given the tools, support, and encouragement they need. Willow said she would also love to encourage other young people to give public speaking a go.

I will close with Willow's own words:

Public speaking is a great way to use your voice to make a change. It has helped me to know what I want to do and where I want to go. I would highly recommend both Rostrum and Legacy to anyone interested in public speaking who would like to share what you are passionate about to like minded people. What's the worst that can happen?

Members - Hear, hear.