Dick Adams (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Saturday night in Hobart the Community Achievement Awards for Tasmania will be presented. I note that nine of the finalists are from my electorate of Lyons, which shows me that I have the most energetic, community minded people of all the entries. The Community Achievement Awards for Tasmania are about recognising individuals who are making a difference in our local communities and our state. There can never be enough support for those working towards making our state a better place. Awards such as these say thank you to those who work tirelessly to develop and improve in their chosen field of endeavour or interest.

There are eight different categories of awards to be won and they include: primary industry, volunteering, press events and tourism, disability achievement, environment and sustainability, outstanding achiever, economic development and tourism business enterprise, and community of the year. This gives us the opportunity to recognise all the different achievers in our community.

I am pleased to be going to these awards at the invitation of one of my very special towns, the community of Rossarden and Gipps Creek, two delightful spots high up in the Fingal Valley almost on the slopes of Ben Lomond. It is a magic spot with people with enormous energy and spirit, so I am very proud that some of them are finalists on Saturday night. There are also the abalone farms of Bicheno, the Derwent Valley Autumn Festival, Sailability Tasmania from Beauty Point, the West Coast Weed and Fire Management Group of Zeehan, Port Arthur historic site, Brighton Alive and the community of St Mary’s—truly a remarkable group of entries and all should be winners. All the entries, I am sure, have fantastic stories behind them, so it will be a hard job for the judges to make the selection. There are many groups within the Lyons electorate that are worthy of winning an award for commitment to their communities and to those that they help. To all my finalists in Lyons, all the very best on Saturday. I am very proud to be your representative and at this exciting time, in my own mind, you have all won in your categories.