Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's with pleasure that I rise to speak on the motion brought before us tonight by the member for Berowra. On 26 January this year, some 900 people from across Australia were honoured with the Order of Australia. They come from all walks of life and have undertaken all sorts of endeavours, but they all share one thing in common, and that is their exceptional contributions to their respective communities or fields of endeavour.

In this year's Order of Australia awards, a number of people from my home city of Newcastle were awarded honours, and I'd like to take this opportunity to recognise them here this evening. I will start with Mr Warren Atkins from Merewether, who was granted the Medal of the Order of Australia in the General Division for his service to mathematics education. Mr Atkins has been helping to spark a love of maths in young Australians for decades both as a member of the Faculty of Education at the University of Canberra and as chairman and founding member of the Australian Mathematics Foundation, which he's involved with to this day. One of Mr Atkins' greatest legacies is helping to set up one of the world's largest mathematics competitions, the Australian Mathematics Competition. I know many, many students from Newcastle and across the country who compete in that each and every year.

The next recipient is Kay Fordham, who was given the title of Member of the Order of Australia for her longstanding contribution to community health. Ms Fordham is a regular face at the Calvary Mater hospital in Newcastle, where she has built a reputation for kindness, compassion and commitment over her two decades plus of service. She has been a member of the Calvary Mater Newcastle auxiliary for over 21 years and the auxiliary's treasurer since 1999. She has also been a member of the hospital's Community Advisory Council, assisting with community and stakeholder engagement, as well as being a member of the hospital's Heritage Committee.

Also on the honours list from the medical field is Sandra Berenger, who recently retired from the John Hunter Hospital and was recognised for her groundbreaking achievements in the field of infectious disease control. Ms Berenger, who is now a Member of the Order of Australia, joined the Royal Newcastle Hospital in 1971. In the 25 years she was there, she pioneered infection control strategies, most notably working on the strategies to respond to and treat AIDS in the 1980s. As a result, she was recruited by the state government to help develop statewide strategies for responding to HIV.

Another Novocastrian who received a Member of the Order of Australia award is prominent lawyer Mr Richard Anicich, who was recognised for his service to community, business development, and research and law. As well as being a conjoint professor at the University of Newcastle's law faculty, Mr Anicich has contributed to a number of very important institutions in our region, from the Hunter Business Chamber to the Port of Newcastle, Newcastle Grammar School, Hunter Primary Care and the Hunter Medical Research Institute—institutions that have really helped shape much of both the current and the future fabric of the Newcastle community.

Another leading light at the University of Newcastle is Laureate Professor Scott Sloan, who is now an Officer of the Order in the General Division of the Order of Australia. This is the second highest recognition available. Professor Sloan is the director of the university's centre of geotechnical and materials modelling and also leads the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Geotechnical Science and Engineering. Most recently Professor Sloan has been working with his colleague Dr Brett Turner on a patented means of using hemp seeds to treat water contaminated by firefighting foam. This could literally change the lives of people living in Williamtown and surrounding areas, who have of course been living with the severe impacts of ongoing contamination, with no specific end in sight.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to recognise Laureate Professor Nicholas Talley, who has been bestowed with the highest honour available, a Companion of the Order in the General Division of the Order of Australia. Professor Talley has had a long and distinguished career at the University of Newcastle and is a global authority on functional gut disorders. With only 35 Companion of the Order of Australia honours being granted, this is testament to Professor Talley's international standing and his incredible achievements in gastroenterological research in particular.

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