Ann Sudmalis (Gilmore, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On the first Sunday of March 1990, Australians held their first ever nationwide Clean Up Australia Day. Born out of the Clean Up Sydney Harbour event in 1989, which originated from a Clean Up Lake Macquarie event, Clean Up Australia Day has become a national icon of Australia, a chance for all Australians to give back to the community by cleaning up our bushland, parks, beaches, rivers, roads and backyards.

An estimated half a million Australians take part in a local clean up event every year. To break that down, that is an average of almost 4,000 Gilmore residents getting out and about with their gloves, sunscreen, and rubbish bags. With this year being the 25th anniversary of Clean Up Australia Day, I am sure that we will see that number inch ever closer to one million Australians. Already there are over 5,500 individual clean-up sites registered across the country. This year, I will be joining up with Councillor Kellie Marsh of Shellharbour City Council to help clean up a local site. Kellie is a champion of Clean Up Australia Day, working year after year to host her area's largest and most effective clean ups.

In my maiden speech, I explained how I felt that many people have the mindset of 'I, me and mine' in some sections of our community, and now I believe that Australians are very much famous for a 'we, ours and us' way of looking at the world. Clean Up Australia Day is chance for every one of 'us' to do a little good in our community. As you would know, when every Australian does just one small deed for their community, there is no limit to what our great nation can achieve.

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