Alister Henskens portrait
Alister Henskens portrait

News

One of the excellent schools in the Wahroonga electorate, Pennant Hills Public School, recently celebrated its centenary. I had the pleasure of joining the students, staff, parents and ex-students at an assembly to celebrate 100 years of academic growth and success.
Recently, I was once again delighted to attend the annual Art North Exhibition at the Grace Cossington Smith Gallery at Abbotsleigh. This year, the gallery showcased artworks from the 2024 year 12 visual arts students across the Ku-ring-gai and Hornsby district.
I commend the Sydney Adventist Hospital in Wahroonga, the San, for its incredible work and for being ranked the highest for outpatient cancer services.
We are incredibly fortunate in the Wahroonga electorate to have an abundance of incredible women who contribute so much to our community. Their dedication and passion enrich the lives of those around them, making our local area a better place to live, work and raise a family.
New NSW Labor Government planning changes impacting the Wahroonga electorate were announced days before they commenced on 28 February 2025, taking more planning control from local councils and affecting our neighbourhood’s character.
Chris Minns and his Labor Government have voted down sensible and tougher amendments to their legislation on racism in our community, which would have made our community both be safer and feel safer.
The core philosophy of St Edmund's College in Wahroonga focuses on meeting the individual needs of each student and helping them to develop the skills they need to take their rightful place in society.
We are coming up to bushfire season, and it is more important than ever to ensure that our communities are ready for any bushfires this summer.
Sadly, cancer affects all of us in some way. Whether it is a family member or friend who has been diagnosed, we all know someone who has been affected by cancer.
The Pennant Hills Trefoil Guild has been proudly serving the Wahroonga electorate for almost 30 years. I add some comments to the brief contribution I made last week about the guild.
The Wahroonga electorate has one of the highest numbers of volunteers in the whole State. That statistic does not surprise me, given the large number of incredible volunteer organisations in the Wahroonga electorate.
The Wahroonga electorate has many excellent girls' schools, including Abbotsleigh Junior School, which recently celebrated its seventieth birthday. Abbotsleigh has been educating girls since 1885, when Miss Marian Clarke opened the school in a terrace house in North Sydney.
The learners of today are the leaders of tomorrow. Quite often our young adults' interests and engagement with society will influence their success in future occupations and academic achievements.
The NSW Opposition is calling on the Minns Labor Government to outlaw the display of symbols of proscribed terrorist groups if the federal Parliament does not swiftly act to remedy possible gaps in the Commonwealth Criminal Code.
It was my pleasure recently to attend the Turramurra High School Leadership Investiture Ceremony as we farewelled the outgoing student leadership team and welcomed the new team for 2024-25.
The Wahroonga Tigers Rugby Club was founded in 1962 and boasts players like David Campese amongst its alumni. For more than 60 years, the Wahroonga Tigers Rugby Club has provided people of all ages the opportunity to get involved in the great game of rugby union.
I recently had the pleasure of attending the Indo‑Aust Bal Bharathi Vidyalaya [IABBV] Hindi School Hindi Day celebrations at Thornleigh West Public School. India's national Hindi Diwas falls on 14 September every year and acknowledges the adoption of Hindi as the official language of India in 1949.
Every day our police officers put their personal safety at risk to keep our communities safe. I had the pleasure of attending the Ku-ring-gai and Hills police area commands awards ceremony, where many exemplary police officers and community heroes were recognised with special awards from the Police Force.