Luke Simpkins (Cowan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I would like to speak about the Australian Macedonian Medical Society. The society was founded in August 2009 by Dr Zoran Becvarovski, Dr Nick Cvetkovski and Dr Goran Josifoski Stevans and was officially registered as an incorporated association in March 2010. The Australian Macedonian Medical Society is a growing organisation composed of enthusiastic medical and allied health professionals who are dedicated to the promotion and improvement of the health and wellbeing of the local community and, specifically, the particular needs of the Macedonian Australian community.

The Australian Macedonian Medical Society actively seeks to promote and conduct continuing medical education and, amongst other things, to advocate on behalf of members and to contribute to community causes by fundraising. One example is the establishment of the Macedonian Cancer Research Award via the St George and Sutherland Medical Research Foundation to research prevalent cancer in Macedonian Australians. The St George and Sutherland Medical Research Foundation is an independent not-for-profit organisation which supports the work of the medical research community at St George and Sutherland hospitals, two of Australia's leading teaching hospitals.

The society has clear objectives, which are to promote professional standards of its members; provide a forum for professional and social exchange amongst its members; promote and conduct continuing medical education; advocate on behalf of members with regard to community health issues; and acquire and accumulate knowledge and provide responses in relation to health issues affecting Macedonians in Australia. The society also contributes to deserving charitable causes and organisations and performs acts of good corporate citizenship. Furthermore, the society must be congratulated for the promotion of mutual understanding and liaising with other medical organisations. In order to help achieve these objectives, the society holds events and functions with the aim of raising proceeds for medical items, equipment, resources et cetera. It is a very active society and its members have great networking skills, which allow them to achieve the society's objectives.

Clearly I am not the only one who has discovered the work being conducted by the society. I note that, on Wednesday, 6 March 2012, the New South Wales parliament agreed to a motion recognising the work of the Australian Macedonian Medical Society, and I believe it would be worthy of this government to advance a similar motion. In conclusion, I congratulate the Australian Macedonian Medical Society on its support for medical research and the Gasnier Foundation and raising community funds towards such worthy causes. It is a reflection of the great things that those of Macedonian descent do in Australia.