David Bradbury (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to acknowledge the Penrith City Australia Day award recipients for 2010: Aaron Nielsen, Rodney Jacka, Allan Bond and Gabrielle Moran. This year’s Young Citizen of the Year award went to 11-year-old Aaron Nielsen of Claremont Meadows. I met Aaron last year as he was embarking on a 65-kilometre walk from Penrith to Bondi to raise money for the Starlight Children’s Foundation. Aaron, who spent some time in Westmead Children’s Hospital in 2007, knows first-hand how the Starlight Children’s Foundation can make a stay in hospital for a sick child a little easier. He was able to raise $4,500 thousand to help support their work.

Rodney Jacka was the winner of a community award. Mr Jacka has been a tireless volunteer with St Vincent de Paul over the last 20 years. Despite having contracted lymphoma 10 years ago, Mr Jacka has continued to serve his community with passion and dedication.

Allan Bond was a community award recipient and, with his wife, Bev, has been running dance lessons for the past 10 years to raise funds to restore to community ownership the 109-year-old St David’s Church at Llandilo.

Community award recipient Gabrielle Moran is the Vice-President of the Nepean-Blue Mountains Prostate Cancer Support Group. Mrs Moran is an important part of the network of people that provide friendship and guidance to men and their families suffering from prostate cancer.

I congratulate each of the winners of these awards. Our community is richer for the contribution they have made, and continue to make, and I join with the entire City of Penrith in saying thank you.

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