Sid Sidebottom (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I would like to recognise two outstanding women in my electorate who have recently been awarded a place on the Women Tasmania’s honour roll for 2009. They are Sandra Anne French, whose honour was awarded for service to the community, and Merma Kelly, whose honour was awarded for service to multicultural affairs. Sandra is a long-term Burnie councillor. Indeed, she was the first female to be elected mayor of that council, in 1990. She has been serving on the council since 1985. She migrated to Tassie with her family in 1957 and gained her Tasmanian Teaching Certificate from the Launceston Teachers College and then spent over 20 years teaching in a number of our schools, and we have been grateful for that. Her passion for the community is outstanding. She has represented the interests of a variety of health organisations, including National Heart Foundation Tasmania, Cancer Council Tasmania, the Rural and Clinical Medical School and the North-West Medical Research Board. She has played a major part in the local chamber of commerce and on Arts Council Burnie, the Burnie Historical Society, the Rotary Inner Wheel, the Girl Guides Association of Tasmania and the Abbeyfield Society Australia, amongst many others. She has been actively involved in sports.

Merma Kelly migrated to Australia from the Philippines. Hers was the first Filipino family to arrive in Smithon, in the far north-west of my electorate. That is where she settled with her family in 1981. She has been a driving force in bringing together support groups and friendship groups, particularly the Australia-Filipino Friendship Group in Northern Tasmania, and she was a founding member of the continuing Bayanihan Group, which I attend every year. They put on magnificent festivals and make you feel very welcome, as I am sure all colleagues here would appreciate, having experienced similar cultural experiences with the Filipino community. In 1993, Merma was appointed to the Tasmanian Women’s Consultative Council to represent migrant women’s issues. She is also a founding member of the Circular Head International Friendship Group and has been a volunteer at the Wyndarra Centre, in the Circular Head community. She was awarded the 2001 Local Hero Award as part of the Centenary of Federation celebrations in Circular Head. In 2009 she was appointed to the Tasmanian Advisory Council on Multicultural Affairs for her work. I thank both women for their outstanding contributions. (Time expired)