Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Each year on Australia Day communities right around Australia organise local events and celebrate Australia’s national day. Traditionally, citizenship ceremonies are held and local people are recognised for their contribution to their community. These events have become synonymous with and part of Australia Day celebrations, and rightly so because citizenship and recognising the voluntary work of many people are both part of the Australian culture.

On Australia Day this year, I attended two functions: one was organised by the City of Tea Tree Gully and the other was organised by the City of Salisbury. At both functions people became Australian citizens and people within the local community were recognised. In fact, about 120 people became Australian citizens at the two ceremonies I attended. As usual, it was wonderful to see the excitement in their faces when they were handed their citizenship certificates.

I want to acknowledge the people that were recognised at those two events here in the House today. The City of Tea Tree Gully Citizen of the Year Award went to Brian Emery. He has been a volunteer involved with the Kiwanis, the Catholic Parish of Para Hills and Modbury and also the Tea Tree Gully Golf Club. He commenced his involvement with these organisations way back in 1972 and has worked between 12 and 25 hours per week during this time. The citation goes on and on, but time will not permit me to go through it in detail, However, he is certainly someone who is very much worthy of the recognition he was given.

The Community Group of the Year Award went to the Naturally Green Gardeners. They provide a low-level gardening service to Home and Community Care eligible clients who are at risk of premature entry into a residential care facility. It provides a one-off gardening service to those clients with small gardens. Of particular interest is the fact that volunteer group members give up their time on Monday and Tuesday mornings to assist clients, who are mainly frail, aged people and younger people with disabilities. This is a matter that the House is discussing right now.

The Sportsperson of the Year Award went to Brendon Twiggs. Brendon commenced playing lacrosse for the North Adelaide Lacrosse Club in 2003 in the under-17 team. He was chosen to play in the state under-17 side and also the Australian under-17 team. He then went on to play senior lacrosse with the North Adelaide Lacrosse Club in 2004. He was selected for the under-21 Australian side in 2007, where he was appointed captain for the Asia-Pacific Games. In October 2008 he represented South Australia in the Australian championships in Perth. He was awarded a 12-month scholarship for lacrosse at the Globe Institute of Technology in New York in 2007-08. He has been selected for the Australian lacrosse squad to compete at the World Cup in Manchester in 2010.

The City of Salisbury Community Group of the Year Award went to Boost Media Skills. This is a program that offers young people the opportunity to learn new skills, to develop the skills they already have and to make a contribution which will encourage them to think about their future career choices. An alternative education program, coordinated through TWELVE25 Salisbury Youth Enterprise Centre by Kate Walker, Youth Services and Project Officer for the City of Salisbury, and Boost Media Skills was attended by Harley Soltan, Stephanie Warren and Richard Sims.

The City of Salisbury Young Citizen of the Year Award went to Josh Baldwin. He is a passionate and dedicated young man who advocates on behalf of other young people. Josh has played an active role on the Salisbury Youth Advisory Council since 2006. Through his involvement with the Youth Advisory Council, Josh has been involved in the planning, organisation and facilitation of initiatives such as Youth Week, youth forums, the development of the youth centre, the development of a youth strategy and youth careers functions, the development of the Youth Advisory Council website, skate park events and so on. He is clearly a young person who is very active in his community.

Lastly, the City of Salisbury Citizen of the Year award went to Susan Emerson. Susan, who works for the Helping Hand organisation, is a committed, dedicated and enthusiastic woman who works to provide older people with a better quality of life and to effectively engage them with other generations. She has been instrumental in assisting young school children to connect with older members of the community, and she is renowned for bringing people, businesses and organisations together.

These are just some of the people who contribute to those communities. Obviously, each council cannot recognise them all but these people are certainly worthy of recognition, and I congratulate them for the awards they have received.

Question agreed to.

See this speech in context