Jill Hall (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

On Tuesday, 19 May, I attended a presentation of medals at Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie. Before going into details of that event, I want to say for the record how valuable the work that Marine Rescue do in Lake Macquarie is. Shortland electorate is nestled between lakes and the ocean. Marine Rescue, both on the Central Coast and in Lake Macquarie, do a valuable job. They keep the waterways safe, they go out into the ocean when boats get into trouble and, during the horrendous storms we had at the end of April, Marine Rescue were there helping people in distress and working on the lake to try to salvage boats.

On the 19th I was very privileged to give some awards to people like John Hatton, who received his Marine Rescue 10-year service medal. He is a Marine Rescue Master. He served with the flotilla at Swansea prior to the amalgamation and is a stalwart of the organisation. Another award went to Peter Skinner, who joined the Swansea coast guard on 8 November 1994. He is a radio trainer and was deputy flotilla commander for several years. He was presented with a 20-year service clasp and a certificate recognising his long service. Then there was Malcolm Watson. He joined the Swansea coast guard on 12 August 1999. Because of his interest in radios, he became the radio guru for his team and has been of great benefit to the organisation. He has held positions on the executive of both Marine Rescue and the coast guard.

Richard Jarman is the organisation's old man of the sea. He joined in 1953 and has been active in the organisation for many years. He was presented with his national medal recognising 15 years of service to the boating community. Nola Ellis received her 25-year clasp. In 1964, whilst working for the Sydney City Council, Brian Davies joined the civil defence organisation which later became the SES. Brian joined the local Marine Rescue after reading an item in my newsletter. He was presented with 35- and 45-year clasps for his national medal. I commend this organisation for its fine work.

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