Mr ALISTER HENSKENS ( Ku-ring-gai ) ( 17:46 :22 ): Members may be familiar with the best-selling Alice-Miranda series of books, possibly also the Clementine Rose series or perhaps even Kensy and Max. All those stories are creations of West Pymble's Jacqueline Harvey, who admits that the characters in her books—of which more than 1.2 million copies have been sold—were inspired by the children she came to know and admire during a 20-year teaching career. She was a successful teacher, having been deputy head and then director of development of the Abbotsleigh Junior School in Wahroonga.

However, in 2012 Jacqueline made the decision to become a full-time writer. The result was a series of books about a positive, clever and kind seven-year-old girl, Alice-Miranda, that has won the hearts of readers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil and Hungary. The series has been shortlisted for numerous children's book awards in this country and optioned for television. The Clementine Rose series is enjoying similar success in the United Kingdom, Brazil and the United States of America. Jacqueline is passionate about improving literacy standards for children. She is an ambassador for Dymocks Children's Charities and takes great pleasure in introducing books to disadvantaged children who otherwise lack the opportunity. I congratulate Jacqueline on her success as an author, and for sharing the joy of reading with children in Australia and around the world.