Alex Hawke (Mitchell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this morning to record my congratulations and appreciation to the recipients of honours in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours List in the electorate of Mitchell and surrounding districts.

Dr Joseph Pereira, who is a resident of Castle Hill and received an AM in the General Division, is an extraordinary person, and, along with his wife, Shirley, became an advocate for Burmese migrants and the Karen people, who are an ethnic minority discriminated against by the Burmese military dictatorship. Dr Pereira and his wife have helped to build a sewing factory in which 33 people help to provide food for 150 displaced children along the Thai-Burmese border. They both travel to Thailand each year to check up on the projects and see how they are progressing.

Alan Zammit of Bella Vista was awarded an AM in the General Division. There is no doubt that Alan Zammit has a long-term commitment to urban, regional and community development for which he was made a member of the Order of Australia. For six years he was chairman of the board of St Gabriel’s School for Hearing Impaired Children at Castle Hill and for 10 years he was on the board of the University of Western Sydney Foundation. He also served two terms as chair of the Hill Shire Orange Blossom Festival, perhaps the pre-eminent local festival in my community. Mr Zammit is involved in many community organisations in Sydney’s west. He is chairman of the Salvation Army Greater Western Sydney Advisory Board and director of the Millennium Foundation, which raises funds for medical research at Westmead Hospital. Mr Zammit, of course, capped his 40-year career as the developer of the award-winning $2 billion Norwest Business Park and Bella Vista Waters, which my community is obviously eternally grateful for.

Janis Duffy, a resident of Cigolini Place, Kellyville received an OAM in the General Division for services to aged care and baseball, however, she has been involved in volunteer work as a charter member of the Glenhaven Rotary Club and a volunteer at the Children’s Medical Research Institute. Her service and commitment to Kellyville Baseball Club is something that has to be seen to be believed.

Don Tait, who is a good friend of mine, received an OAM in the General Division. He is a director of the Castle Hill RSL, but Mr Tait was cited for his work in service to veterans and preservation of artillery heritage. He served, of course, extensively in the Royal Australian Artillery and was colonel commandant between 2000 and 2006, and, indeed, he was one of the people responsible for bringing the unknown soldier back to his final resting place at the War Memorial in Canberra.

I also want to record my congratulations to Pat Nati of Dural. Pat has been raising money for charity for 30 years, which is well known, and he is an expert at it, and there have been many, excellent fundraisers organised by him. He is chairman of the fundraising committee of Special Olympics Australia, and the list of groups and individuals he helps is mind boggling and include: the Millennium Institute, AIDS Orphans, pancreatic cancer research, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, the Salvation Army and St Vincent’s Hospital.

I also want to record my congratulations to James Smith of Dural. All these recipients from my constituency are very worthy recipients.