Ms JODIE HARRISON (Charlestown): The hope of rain following a drought inspired a beautiful poem now shortlisted for the Project Poem Forest prize.

I congratulate year 5 student Toby R from New Lambton South Public School, who has been shortlisted for his poem entitled 'Hope'. The Red Room Poetry initiative received more than 5,000 entries from across the country.

They were all nature poems exploring Australia, from the flow of tides to the patter of a potoroo. The very gifted Toby is a top-10 finalist, with the winners of the competition to be announced on 17 November. I congratulate Toby and wish him all the very best. I will share Toby's poem with the House.

River bed carcass

dried out by mother summer,

leaves wither to brown

as the clouds wane thin,

and the drought rolls overhead

though in all the death

there is always hope

from hope blossoms succulents

which turns death to life,

nothing to something

as pigface spreads like a new dawn

so with life spreading,

and death retreating

rain starts to fall like glitter.

A Community Recognition Notice is an opportunity for an MP to submit a short statement praising the work of an individual or group in the local community. If you have any ideas about people I can recognise with a Community Recognition Notice, please email and let me know!