Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is my opinion that the greatest of all the human qualities is selflessness, and I am proud to say that selflessness is the defining characteristic of the community that I get to represent here in this place. I am pleased we get to recognise this each year when we gather to applaud and celebrate people's efforts and to present them with a Local Legends award. I want to congratulate the 36 recipients who joined us at Logan Diggers Services Club last month, as well as their loved ones who were there and the people who nominated them. They were drawn from all corners of the community—schools, charities, sports, the RSL, multicultural communities, emergency services and other groups. They were from different walks of life, but they all had in common the characteristic of selflessness.

Even though I have lived in my electorate for most of my life, I am still frequently amazed and inspired by the great stories of people who are looking out for each other and looking after each other. The Local Legends awards are all about telling those stories and celebrating those stories through a great afternoon like we had at Logan Diggers. Our whole community is strengthened by the people whose efforts we applauded at the ceremony and the time and commitment they devote to looking out for other people. I want to thank them for their work and for their selflessness. I also want to thank everyone who came along to the ceremony on the day and also my state colleagues who did such a terrific job as MCs.