Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to congratulate an outstanding community champion in my region, Trish Webster, who recently received an award on Australia Day from the three combined Rotary clubs of Murwillumbah. This was very well deserved—indeed, as were all the other recipients. Trish is the creator and administrator of the very successful local Facebook group Murwillumbah Matters. The page now has almost 30,000 followers, and Trish works tirelessly to provide information for our community. This was especially true during our devastating floods of 2017. Throughout the past two years during the pandemic, Trish has been there, working tirelessly to provide information for us, always updating us. Murwillumbah Matters is always a great place to get local information and support across a whole range of issues.

Running a Facebook page can be very challenging at times, but Trish is always respectful of the very differing views within our community. Murwillumbah Matters really provides a great place for people in the community just to find information, provide support and pass on other information. As Trish said when she received the reward, 'It's a joy to run a successful community page where information is vital and gives people a chance to be heard.' She said it was challenging during the height of the pandemic, but she felt people were relying on her. People are relying on you, Trish, and we really appreciate your commitment to our community through Murwillumbah Matters.

See this speech in context