Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Late last year I had the honour of attending a meeting of the Marine Rescue Tuggerah Lakes to present medals to three of their members. Three longstanding and much valued members of Marine Rescue Tuggerah Lakes were acknowledged along with several other members receiving training competency certificates.

Two Marine Rescue NSW long service medals were presented. This medal is awarded to personnel having recorded 10 years continuous or aggregate service with Marine Rescue New South Wales. Previous service with the Australian Volunteer Coastguard Association, Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol or Volunteer Rescue Association Marine is also recognised towards service time for the award.

John Adair was one recipient of this award. He joined the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol on 11 June 2004, transferring to Marine Rescue New South Wales at its inception in July 2009. He was awarded the Marine Rescue long service pin in 2012 and heachieved the rating of leading crew and skipper in 2008. He is currently assisting in the role of fundraisingand maintenance with Marine Rescue Tuggerah Lakes.

Also receiving the award was Ann Morgan. Ann joined the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol in 2004 and, like John, transferred to Marine Rescue New South Wales in July 2009. Ann is a much-loved and appreciated memberof the fundraising team.

Also presented w as the nationa l medal for 15 years' service th e Australian h onours award. The national medal recognises long and diligent service by members of recognised government and voluntary organisations who risk their lives or safety to protect or assist the community in enforcement of the law in times of emergency or natural disaster. Those who receive this award have served for a continuous or an aggregate period of 15 years.

The national medal was awarded to Godfrey 'Goff' Morgan. Goff joined the Roya l Volunteer Coastal Patrol at Point Clare and later transferred to Tuggerah Lakes. During the time he was with Coastal Patrol T uggerah Lakes . During the time he was with Coast Patrol Tuggerah Lakes, he achieved the position of division commander. In 2009, Goff transferred to marine Rescue New South Wales. He still attends most Saturdays to assist with the duty watch.

Marine Rescue Tuggerah Lakes is responsible for an area of water around 77-square kilometres—around double the size of Sydney Harbour. Volunteers are on standby 24/7 for cases of emergency assistance as well as conducting regular weekend patrols. The unit is an enterprise registered training organisation and provides training to members across all aspects of the operations, which is a great opportunity for members of the public to get involved in volunteering and learn new skills.

My congratulations to the medal recipients and my thanks go to all members of Central Coast marine rescue units for their contribution to the safety of our community when and about on the water.