Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Australia) Share this | Hansard source

It was with great sadness that I learned of the passing of one of Parramatta's local heroes, Narelle Morris. Narelle started volunteering with Holroyd Community Aid in 2004, quickly moving into a leadership role in their welfare centre and the op shop, and then became vice-president. She was nominated for Citizen of the Year in 2010 and was awarded the accolade in 2012. In 2016 Narelle was named New South Wales Local Woman of the Year for Granville.

I was unable to attend Narelle's memorial, but I heard that the turnout was more than double what was expected. There were many kind words spoken about Narelle, but they all returned to a common theme: how much people loved her and how much she cared for people. She was small in stature but had an enormous heart. She was feisty, sincere, very blunt and empathetic and, as is often the case with caring people, always put the welfare of others before herself. Holroyd Community Aid lost its government funding in 2015, but Narelle made sure it stayed open, staying late every night trying to find a solution. It's hard to imagine that the centre would still be providing emergency relief services to the community without Narelle's tireless work. I send my sincere condolences to Narelle's family and all of those at Holroyd Community Aid, particularly the people whose lives she touched and the volunteers she inspired so much. We will miss you, Narelle. Thank you for all that you've done.

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