Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Each year the Hume City Council in my electorate, apart from the very successful citizenship ceremony on Australia Day, also awards its Australia Day awards, recognising outstanding individuals in our community who go above and beyond in their call of duty and support of others.

At this year's Australia Day ceremony, Mr Samet Istar, a Dallas resident, who has championed cultural understanding and community in our pride was awarded the 2015 Hume Citizen of the Year. Samet Istar, apart from being a good friend of mine, is a 29-year-old young Australian, who was a founding member of the Australian Turkish University Students Association and is the current president of the Australian Turkish Institute.

Samet is above all a great ambassador for multiculturalism in our community. He is involved in many events and activities. He is a volunteer presenter with the 3ZZZ radio network, and his work in promoting intercultural understanding and fostering community pride has made a great impact, particularly amongst young people.

Samet selflessly takes time out of his very busy schedule to volunteer across numerous areas of community life, including his work with the local Turkish community in advocating and educating on issues affecting Australians of Turkish background.

He has also organised humanitarian projects by supplying food and support to orphans in Cambodia and Myanmar, and he has worked with the Red Cross on their very successful saving 1,000 lives blood drive campaign.

Samet is integral to the organisation of local community festivals. He is very heavily involved in the upcoming ANZAC Centenary celebrations and he is absolutely brilliant at creating network opportunities that bring young people and mentors together.

He has a particular interest in assisting families and individuals who are afflicted by drug abuse, and I want to take this opportunity to thank him for taking the initiative to write to the Joint Committee on Law Enforcement encouraging a parliamentary inquiry into the use of ice and its ramifications, especially in our local migrant communities.

Samet Istar is a very deserving recipient of our city's highest accolade, the Hume Citizen of the Year, and I want to wholeheartedly congratulate him and thank him for his ongoing service to our community. He is a fine example of a young Australian who, on his own initiative and goodwill, has decided that he wants to contribute to his local community. He wants to help young people as they go through school and have social issues. I look forward to him being a great leader in our community.

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