MP briefs Australian Parliament on HFC Bamba and Dilmah founder
Sri Lankan born Australian MP Cassandra Fernando briefed the Australian Parliament on her school, Holy Family Convent (HFC) Bambalapitiya, and the death of Dilmah tea founder Merrill J Fernando.
Fernando, who visited Sri Lanka recently, spoke on two different occasions in the Australian Parliament.
The MP told the Australian Parliament that among her favourite roles, besides being the member for Holt, is serving as the chair of the Parliamentary friends groups for North Macedonia and Sri Lanka.
“Over the past few weeks I had the privilege of visiting the vibrant lands of North Macedonia and Sri Lanka and engaging with the parliamentary friendship groups for Australia in their parliaments,” she said.
She said that during her visit to her country of birth she had a tour of the Parliament of Sri Lanka with the Speaker, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, a lunch with the Australia-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Group, and a meeting with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Tharaka Balasuriya.
Besides these engagements, the Australian MP said that her most treasured part of her time there was the opportunity to address the students of the Holy Family Convent Bambalapitiya, her old school.
“The opportunity to meet and interact with the youth of Sri Lanka, who are filled with ambition, drive and an inspiring vision for their future, was a heartwarming experience. They are the flag-bearers of the nation’s development and a testimony to its vibrant potential,” she said.
The MP said that both North Macedonia and Sri Lanka are nations where the past and the present beautifully intersect, offering lessons and aspirations for the future.
As chair of the Parliamentary friendship groups of these two nations, she says her aim is to foster stronger ties and facilitate greater understanding and cooperation.
Speaking on another occasion in the Australian Parliament, the MP noted the death of Dilmah tea founder Merrill J Fernando. (Colombo Gazette)
