Jason Falinski (Mackellar, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What an honour it is to stand here today and congratulate those amongst us that have made an outstanding contribution to my own community and the nation at large. There is no shortage of men and women who go above and beyond on the northern beaches, be it in science, education, government, business, community service or sport. We are a people that get involved, not relying on others. We roll up our sleeves and give things a go.

The hard work of 14 Mackellar residents was recognised in the 2017 Australia Day Honours. Dr Christopher Graham Roberts from Warriewood was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his distinguished service to science and the development and commercialisation of medical biotechnology. Amongst other things, he has worked with the cochlear implant program—and the management of respiratory conditions has been instrumental in the Australian medical science field. He was the chief executive officer of Cochlear, and a non-executive director of ResMed and Research Australia.

Janette Ailsa Davie from Palm Beach was made a Member of the Order in recognition of her significant service to the tourism sector through executive and advisory roles with travel industry associations and the community. President of the Visit USA Organisation Australia, she has represented travel agents and tour operators and is actively contributing in our community.

Melinda Maree Gainsford-Taylor from Collaroy Plateau became a Member of the Order in recognition of her work as a role model for young athletes and her contribution to the sport of athletics as a nationally and internationally ranked sprinter. Spending significant energy in giving back to the sport, Melinda continues to coach Little Athletics and was chosen as ambassador for the Road to Rio mentoring program.

Russell Grant Hammond, who resides in Bayview, joined fellow Members of the Order for his significant service to the performing arts and professional associations, particularly to music, as a conductor and administrator.

Christine Julie Hopton from Clareville, as president of the Avalon Surf Life Saving Club—her contribution to surf lifesaving and passion for empowering women and girls was recognised with a Medal of the Order. Robert John McInerney, who lives in Newport, also received a Medal of the Order for his contribution to surf lifesaving and for his service as chair of the Veterans' Centre for Sydney Northern Beaches.

Anne Marie Salvador from Beacon Hill, who has served the international community through numerous humanitarian programs, received the Medal of the Order. As founder and coordinator of Network Heaven, Anne supports orphanages and street children in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Romania, Moldova and Zimbabwe.

Finally, I would like to recognise an inspiring group of girls who took a non-existent team to the highest possible achievement in sports, winning a gold medal at the Rio Olympics. What an extraordinary feat in sportsmanship. Ellia Green and Shannon Parry from Dee Why; Alicia Quirk, Emma Tonegato and Chloe Dalton from Mona Vale; and Amy Turner and Sharni Williams from Newport: you proved that tenacity and teamwork can get you to the very top—and, best of all, you beat the Kiwis in my favourite sport, rugby. You represented Australia, you united a nation and you made us proud. With your teammates, you will continue to inspire young boys and girls on the beaches and across the country in years to come.

I wish to thank all of those who were recognised here today. You have, and continue to demonstrate compassion, civility, dedication, courage, kindness, tolerance and energetic ambition. Thank you also to all the anonymous men and women who work tirelessly for the benefit of our entire community. You are an inspiration. There is no greater value to our younger generation than role models and to see firsthand people who put others before themselves. It is an absolute privilege to represent the Northern Beaches where there are so many of you.

Julian Hill (Bruce, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian honours system is an important part of our social fabric, and recognising outstanding community contributions helps us to define and demonstrate our national aspirations, ideals and standards. Recipients of Australian honours and awards are people whose actions have set them apart and enriched our community. In their daily lives, recipients demonstrate those values that we hold dear: compassion, civility, dedication, courage, kindness, ambition and tolerance, and they inspire us all to be more fully engaged citizens. Humble acts over many years are recognised as are more visible, striking acts that have already brought a recipient fame and glory. Whole segments of the Australian community receive special and separate recognition through complementary streams like public service, emergency services, military and so on, which is appropriate. I firmly believe that culture—the way we do things around here, as they say—is largely set by leaders, and national awards also help develop our national culture.

The motion before us touches on the history of the order. The order, as we know it now, was instituted by Her Majesty the Queen, Elizabeth Regina, on Valentine's Day 1975. It is funny how the motion includes mention of her given the Order of Australia in 1975 replaced those hideous, nonegalitarian relics of royalty, empire and colonialism, the British imperial honours, which had been in place here prior to 1975. It is amusing, though somewhat nauseating, how many of those opposite just cannot miss a chance to mention the British monarch. Before anyone squawks that she is not the British monarch, that is actually how the Prime Minister described her in his remarks to the House last week, fawning over her long reign. Even deigned, she did, we heard, to visit Australia 16 times in 65 years. Like, wow, amazing; our head of state came to visit! So revered here, apparently, that few could say they are not Elizabethans. Well, I am not.

While we are on history and royalty, knights and dames were removed from the general division in the Australian awards in 1986. Hurrah, we thought. But no; in an inexplicable move just three years ago then Prime Minister Tony Abbott had a total brain fail and surprised everyone, including his cabinet, by reintroducing them. He caused a moment of national hilarity, the likes of which I cannot remember, by creating Sir Prince Philip. There are really no words. Anyway, sirs and dames seem to have gone away again, so enough on royalty.

I congratulate and thank all recipients from this year's Australia Day honours and awards and I want to pay particular tribute to four outstanding people in my electorate of Bruce. Three were awarded OAMs in the most recent round. First is Mr Timothy Disken, who I had the pleasure of meeting last year and have already spoken to this House about, for service to sport as a gold medallist in the Rio 2016 Paralympics. Tim, when he competed at his first Paralympics, was just 19, yet he returned to Australia with gold, silver and bronze medals. He has already competed in the world swimming championships, Para Pan Pacs in California and many other games and he has a bright future in front of him. I am delighted that one of the largest and best special schools in my electorate, the Glenallen School, has recently named their swimming pool after him.

There was also Captain Donald Beresford Bergman (Retd) of Noble Park for his service over many years to veterans, their families and the community, including work over decades at the Shrine of Remembrance as a marshal on Anzac Day in the city, at Noble Park RSL's parade and for his work in the Noble Park RSL and for various amateur theatre causes.

There was Dr Ranjana Srivastava for service to medicine, particularly in the field of doctor-patient communications. She is a medical oncologist, general physician, member of the health complaints commissioner review council Victoria and adjunct professor. She has been a Fulbright Scholar, a regular columnist, an essayist, an author and, indeed, a nominee and recipient of distinguished literary prizes, a medical volunteer at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre and in Calcutta—and the list goes on.

Finally, I also acknowledge Ms Gemma Varley, who received a public service medal for outstanding public service through the drafting of legislation in Victoria. She was in fact the parliamentary counsel, as I recall, for many years in the Victorian government. From my former life as a public servant in Victoria, I can assure the House that the entire public service and senior echelons of the bureaucracy lived in fear and respect of Gemma returning a brief with a semicolon moved that her eagle eye never let pass.

Congratulations to all the recipients.

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on this motion and I thank my friend the member for Berowra for proposing it. My home, the Sunshine Coast, has been proud to boast many recipients of awards in the Order of Australia, and this year's 2017 Australia Day honours added more to that illustrious list. In support of the motion, I would like to tell the chamber about some of them.

Kevin Carroll, from Maroochydore, close to my electorate of Fisher, has been involved in the vital work of our nation's defence for almost 60 years. Mr Carroll spent more than two decades as an avionics technician and engineer in the Royal Australian Air Force. In that role alone he was critical to the operational effectiveness of his RAAF units, conducting flight-line maintenance of instrumentation, communication and weapon systems. Mr Carroll went on to become a squadron leader in the RAAF with many deployments, including the Australian embassies in Washington DC and Malaysia. His citation, however, lists his significant service to business as an advocate for Australian manufacturers.

Professor John Yeaman, of Buddina, was also recognised with a Member of the Order of Australia award. He, like Kevin Carroll, served in our nation's armed forces as a soldier in the Royal Australian Engineers. Almost 60 years ago, however, he began the work for which he received his honour, in roads and civil engineering. Following a number of roles in industry, Professor Yeaman began his own business, Pavement Management Services, which he ran for nearly 30 years. During that time, he took part in innumerable industry organisations. He was a committee member of the National Association of Testing Authorities, a board member of the Universities Accreditation Board and Engineers Australia and a fellow of the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation, among many others. More recently, Professor Yeaman has made a commitment to keep young people interested in the science of engineering.

Finally, I am pleased to tell the chamber about my good friend Don Moffatt. Don is a Sunshine Coast legend, and I know that everyone in our community was delighted to hear that he had been made a Member of the Order of Australia. His citation lists his significant service to the community of the Sunshine Coast, and it is fair to say that this is an understatement. More than 1,000 people every year owe Don and his work a great debt of gratitude. In many cases, without his efforts, their very lives would have been in serious danger. Don is the founder of the Sunshine Coast Helicopter Rescue Service, Australia's first voluntary helicopter rescue organisation.

As a young man, in 1968, Don flew choppers over the jungles in Vietnam for the Australian Army. He knew firsthand what an enormous relief and life-saving presence rotary wing aircraft could be for those who are injured or ill in hard-to-reach places. On his return to Australia, Don could see how Queensland's expansive land and sometimes isolated communities could benefit from that same help. As Don himself has said, if you have an accident and you are out on a property somewhere, there is no better noise to hear than the woop-woop of those helicopter blades, because then you know that someone is coming to take care of you. In 1979, Don began the process of building the Sunshine Coast Helicopter Rescue Service with Queensland government support. In 1985, he bought the organisation's first Jet Ranger helicopter for half a million dollars. Don continues as the deputy chairman of the Sunshine Coast Helicopter Rescue Service, and he has improved that service over many years, increasing the number of helicopters that that service has operated.

But he does not rest there. Don has found time to pursue his passion for horseracing. He has been the Director of the Sunshine Coast Racing Unit Trust and the Deputy Chairman of the Sunshine Coast Turf Club. In those roles, he was a significant part of getting lights and synthetic track installed at the club, which allowed it to become one of the very few night-time racing venues in Australia.

Don, you are an absolute legend, and your order is well deserved.

Tim Watts (Gellibrand, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A national honours system should reflect the values of that nation. It should celebrate the values that we hold dear as a country and the achievements of individual Australians in furtherance of these values. It should both reflect and represent the best of our nation. As Australia has changed over time, so too has the way that we recognise Australians for outstanding contributions to our nation. Reflecting the proud, independent nation that Australia had become, state and federal Labor governments ceased making recommendations for awards under the British imperial awards system in 1972, and the Whitlam government created the Australian honours system in 1975. That is why the public's reaction to the Abbott government's reinstatement of knights and dames was so strong: it is just not a reflection of who we are as a nation.

Since the creation of the modern Australian honours system, many great Australians have been recognised through these awards. However, the contributions of many other deserving recipients have been overlooked during this time. The primary purpose of the Order of Australia is:

… to recognise … those who have made outstanding contributions that benefit their communities, and ultimately our country.

That is all well and good, but the stated secondary purpose of the Order of Australia is:

… to define, encourage and reinforce community standards, national aspirations and ideals by acknowledging actions and achievement and thereby identifying role models at all levels and in all spheres of the community.

By this count, Australia's honours system is failing to deliver for our nation. The sad reality is that Australia's honours system continues to overlook important contributions to our communities and our nation as a whole made by women and people from minority backgrounds. Since the inception of our modern awards system in 1975, to date, women have been recipients of just 30.3 per cent of all Orders of Australia. This has barely improved in recent times. Between 2012 and 2016, women received just 31.4 per cent of awards. The problem is more acute at the top. Over the history of the awards, women have received barely 15 per cent of the ACs—the highest award—issued and not even 20 per cent of the AOs, the second highest.

This year's awards show only marginal progress. It is pleasing that 45 per cent of this year's ACs—five out of the 11 awards—were women, including our first female Prime Minister and a long-time resident of Melbourne's west, Julia Gillard. Only 35 per cent, however, of the 2017 honours list are women—just 252 women, barely half of the 475 men. This figure is up three per cent since 2016, but it is still a long way from equality. This is not just a selection problem but a problem of recognition that extends to individual nominations by the public. Indeed, just 320 women were nominated for the general division of the Order of Australia awards this year, in comparison with 651 men.

Does anyone still think this is about merit? Does anyone think that in 2017 men are making twice the contribution to our communities and our nation that women are? There is clearly something else at play here. Unfortunately the current model of community nomination is perpetuating the enduring inequality of recognition in our communities in our national awards. The Australian Honours and Awards Branch does not even collect data on the CALD, disability or ATSI status of recipients of these honours. The Governor-General's office indicates that, for orders, this information is not collected 'as it does not affect a person's eligibility for recognition in the Order of Australia'. Given the near ubiquity with which this information is collected across other government activities, this is peculiar indeed.

Collecting this information might provide those responsible for these awards with valuable information beyond the mere eligibility of an applicant. It might indicate that we need to do more work to promote and encourage nominations from CALD communities. You cannot improve what you do not measure. We do know that just 12 per cent of award recipients between 1975 and 2016 were Australians who were born overseas. Given that 28 per cent of the Australian resident population, not the citizen population, were born overseas, we should expect to see a similar underrepresentation on this front.

While in the past Australia has periodically sought to move our national award system away from the elitist and exclusive imperial awards of Great Britain, the Old Dart has, shamefully, moved ahead of us in creating a national award system that reflects a diverse modern nation. The United Kingdom's 2017 New Year's honours list was 'the most diverse ever'. Women received more than 50 per cent of the honours. People from black, Asian or minority ethnic backgrounds picked up 9.3 per cent of the awards, and 8.5 per cent of the awards went to people with a disability. Unfortunately, knights and dames are not the only anachronism that has plagued Australian national awards in recent years. It is time that the recipients of Australia's honours looked like the nation that they came from.

Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with great pleasure that I rise today to recognise one of the wonderful constituents of the electorate of Forde and acknowledge her efforts in receipt of her OAM. The Order of Australia is the highest national honour awarded to Australian citizens for outstanding contributions to our country and humanity. It was quite disappointing to listen to the previous member's contribution to this debate.

Since being established, there have been more than 30,000 recipients of this award. This Australia Day, one of those recipients was Forde's very own Robin Gallen. Robin was awarded the OAM for her service to community health. She is one of our region's finest examples of a person who serves the community with selflessness and dedication. Robin has been heavily involved in the local community since moving to the region in 1988. Her time as a girl guide instilled a passion for community spirit which followed her throughout her life—from her time as a teacher to her work as a diversional therapist in nursing homes throughout southeast Queensland.

Robin's involvement in the Forde community and, more broadly, the Logan community ranges from helping to establish the Logan Seniors Network to serving as the president of the Crestmead 40+ Club, being a youth leader at the Girls' Friendly Society, volunteering with Guide Dogs Queensland, assisting the RSL Care Talbarra community and contributing her time to the Saint Marks Anglican Church. At one point, she went on to work as a diversional therapy teacher and coordinated the Logan City Business Academy. More recently, she has served on the board of the Wesleyan Methodist Church at Logan and has volunteered at the Logan Entertainment Centre. It is always a pleasure, when you go to events at the Logan Entertainment Centre, to see Robin as part of the greeting team, so warmly welcoming everybody who is coming to attend the function.

Robin's hard work and commitment to the community has been recognised on many occasions locally. She was presented with the first-ever life membership award for her efforts with Diversional Therapy Australia; she was a founding member of the Queensland branch. She has received the prestigious Mayor's Spirit of Logan award from the city of Logan. In 2009, she also won the esteemed Most Active Senior award.

I am so proud to have somebody like Robin living in my community—somebody who goes above and beyond to help others. But more importantly, I am blessed to be able to call her a friend. Robin has always put her passion to help others at the forefront of everything she does. Her community spirit shines everywhere she goes. It was my pleasure to support the application for Robin's Order of Australia. Robin is a very deserving recipient, and I have no doubt that the people of our community of Forde feel enormously proud of her achievements and her involvement in our local community. Robin, thank you for everything that you do for the community of Forde and, more generally, Logan. Congratulations on your Order of Australia award.

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Manufacturing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Order of Australia awards were introduced in 1975 to recognise Australians who made an outstanding contribution to our country. The awards have a secondary purpose as a national expression of thanks to those same people. In a similar vein, Australian and local government awards are conferred each year on thousands of local residents who are equally deserving of public recognition and thanks. Determining who should receive the awards is often difficult. I have no doubt that, over the years, many deserving people have not been recognised. Regrettably, there is a widely held perception in the community that, too often, the recipients of the major awards are people who hold senior or influential positions in society or people who have been in the public spotlight and who have been more than adequately recognised and rewarded for their contributions. It is a perception which serves to diminish the value of the awards in the minds of many Australians. For that reason, it is important that public faith is maintained in the award and that not only is the award process free of political influence but the awards are given on merit that will withstand public scrutiny. I noted the comments of the member for Gellibrand just a moment ago in respect of that, and I appreciate the points that he brought to the attention of the House.

Having said that, I congratulate the recipients of this year's Australia Day awards, and I add my thanks for their efforts in making a difference to the country and the world in which we live. Although time does not allow me to read the full citation for each of them, I take this opportunity to acknowledge locals within my electorate who were recognised in this year's awards.

Corey Dunn received an Australian Fire Service Medal. Corey, of Tea Tree Gully, has been with the South Australian Country Fire Service since 1993. He started out as a volunteer brigade firefighter with Salisbury, and then Tea Tree Gully, and has since gone on to develop curriculum and leadership initiatives, implement national work safety training packages and personally facilitate more than 30 tactical command and leadership courses across South Australia. He has been the air attack supervisor for the South Australian CFS since 2001, performing the highly demanding role in major bushfire incidents, including the Kangaroo Island fires of 2007 and the massive Sampson Flat bushfires that threatened metropolitan Adelaide in 2015.

Glenn Benham also received an Australian Fire Service Medal. Glenn, of Wynn Vale, joined the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service in 1982 as a firefighter and has progressed to the rank of assistant chief fire officer. He has been a mentor to many firefighters throughout his long career and a member of the SAMFS executive and has helped the South Australian Fire and Emergency Commission in the areas of harmonisation, modernisation and alignment. Glenn has also been doing outstanding work helping the Tongan fire and emergency service rebuild their country following major civil unrest, in which 80 per cent of the capital was destroyed by arson fires.

I also mention Charles Figallo, who was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia. Charles is a successful businessman and industry leader through his company, Basetec Services. I have known Charles for many, many years. He also serves on several industry bodies. More important is the long list of community organisations that Charles has been associated with, including, but not limited to, the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Diabetes SA, the Variety SA, the Fred Hollows Foundation and Doctors Without Borders. I particularly single out Charles's role in fundraising and in having an Anzac memorial established in Malta, in recognition of Malta's assistance in caring for wounded Anzac soldiers from Gallipoli, with some 300 ultimately having been laid to rest there.

I also congratulate David Adamson, who was awarded Citizen of the Year by the City of Tea Tree Gully. In the City of Salisbury, Christopher Moore was awarded Citizen of the Year; Damien Walker, Young Citizen of the Year; and William Leslie, Senior Citizen of the Year. Yunus Noori was awarded Citizen of the Year by the City of Port Adelaide Enfield, and Kyran Dixon was Young Citizen of the Year.

I take this opportunity to recognise a local legend, Ray Goodes, who this year celebrates 60 years of service as a member of the Tea Tree Gully Country Fire Service. Ray, who turns 88 this month—in fact, in a week's time, and I wish him a happy 88th birthday!—has seen it all when it comes to fires and emergencies, including the Ash Wednesday fires in South Australia nearly four decades ago, and, more recently, the 2015 Sampson Flat fires. Indeed, when I visited the Tea Tree Gully CFS during the midst of those fires, there was Ray giving his advice and experience to the other volunteers. Ray is still volunteering, and his personal experience and knowledge is invaluable.

To all of those people, I extend my congratulations and thanks for their service to our local community.

Damian Drum (Murray, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to congratulate the member for Berowra, Julian Leeser, for bringing to the parliament this motion in relation to the Australia Day 2017 honours list. I have the opportunity here to talk about a range of community minded champions in my electorate of Murray who have received various awards on Australia Day. We have two members of the Order of Australia, four new medals of the Order of Australia and 62 people who received Australian citizenship at the ceremony in Shepparton.

Firstly, the members of my electorate who received a Medal of the Order of Australia. Brian Cossar, from Yarrawonga, was honoured for his service to veterans and their families through the RSL and Legacy. Brian served in the Vietnam War. Bruce Pigdon, also from Yarrawonga, was honoured for his services to Yarrawonga Health. He has been on the Yarrawonga Health Board as a director for 23 years. Eleanor Hardie, from Echuca, had a significant career with the Mid Murray Flying Club as a director from 1966 to 2004 and with the Royal Federation of Aero Clubs as a board member from 1998 to 2008. Malcolm Whyte, from Echuca, has a record of amazing service to youth and has been recognised for his work with the scout group, the Echuca primary school, the Echuca Historical Society, the Apex Club, the Navigation Society and the Echuca Port restoration.

In relation to members of the Order of Australia, Mr John Dainton was given this honour. He was recognised for his significant service to the environment through natural resource management. In the 1980s, John carried out critical work in fixing salinity throughout the Goulburn Valley. He was paramount in the formation of the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority. He is extremely excited about this award, although he was at pains to suggest that this is very much a team effort.

Also we have an absolute champion in the Goulburn Valley. The Order of Australia medal was given posthumously to Chris McPherson. Chris McPherson had an amazing career in the print industry as one of the McPherson media family. He had grown up in this particular industry. As soon as he could walk he was tearing around the offices of the Shepparton News,fidgeting on his grandpa's knee and scampering out amongst the printing machines. He also mixed his love of cars and speed with his work in getting to the Kyabram Free Press on time. Sometimes he created a bit of a cloud of dust when he was dropping off various amounts of copy for the next publication to go out.

I think Chris is going to be best remembered not only for his love of newspapers, cars and speed, and the Melbourne Football Club but for his love of family and the work he did in the last 10 years of his life in relation to the Biggest Ever Blokes Lunch, which he founded in Shepparton and has since spread right around the state of Victoria and Australia, raising more than $2.8 million for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. This work has enabled so many normal, everyday Australians, particularly men, to understand the dangers and harm in doing nothing and taking it for granted that they will be one of the lucky ones. It is continually pushing people—pushing men—to hear the stories of those who were taking their health for granted and not getting the test done. The message is: go and see your GP, make sure you get tested and keep control of your bloods. I think this will be the work that Chris McPherson is going to be best remembered for, but he was an amazing board member of the GOTAFE as well.

He was the Australian Volunteer of the Year in 2015 in recognition of the amount of work that he put into raising these phenomenal amounts of money. I was lucky to play a small part in bringing the Biggest Ever Blokes Lunch from Shepparton across to Bendigo, which was one of the very first places outside of its birthplace place in Shepparton to run the Biggest Ever Blokes Lunch. It has grown and grown since those early days. This year we had bowel cancer contributions to the program as well. We are going to find now a whole range of specialists employed to assist with the detection to ensure that people take a proactive role in the fight against prostate cancer. Certainly the work that Chris McPherson, along with his great friend Graeme Johnson, did in this field in 2009 to get this thing started has raised money and spread the word not to take your health for granted.

Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia's honours system provides us with the opportunity to acknowledge the achievements of outstanding Australians and to thank them for their contribution to our community, our nation and our world. I congratulate the many Canberrans who are honoured this year, particularly our proud servers of democracy and members of the Australian Defence Force. I single out just two, not because they are more exceptional than the others but because of my personal connection to them and their nominations.

The first is Peter Ryan OAM. I am the daughter-in-law of a late Vietnam veteran. I know the struggles that many of them have endured—struggles that have not been confined to them alone but experienced by their spouses, partners and children. As the former local President of the Vietnam Veterans Association, Peter Ryan has been the go-to guy for vets for years. He has worked for decades and on countless committees and organisations to help vets through their personal struggles and to support vets in navigating the DVA process. He has also been instrumental in fostering a greater appreciation and understanding of their service and sacrifice in the broader community. One of Peter's proudest achievements is seeing the annual ACT Vietnam Veterans Day service grow from 50 borrowed chairs and a ghetto-blaster in 2000 to more than 3,500 people in 2016. I want to thank Kevin Gill and the many others who have worked tirelessly on Peter's nomination. Peter is battling cancer, and time has been of the essence. His main focus now is on making the investiture, and I am very much looking forward to seeing him there.

The second is Kim Brennan, AM. Kim was honoured for her mentoring and for her significant service to rowing, to the welfare of elite athletes, to sport—as a gold medallist at the Rio Olympics—and to the community. In writing a reference for Kim, I was struck by the fact that she is an incredibly impressive woman. She is a dual world champion. She is the chair of the Australian Olympic Committee Athletes' Commission. She sits on the Australian Olympic Committee executive board. She is a qualified lawyer. She graduated from the University of Melbourne with first class honours. She was a winner of the Joan Rosanove QC Memorial Prize. She is also a rower, but she is not just a rower; she was a silver medallist in hurdles. She is an extraordinary woman. Congratulations, Kim. We are proud you call Canberra home.

One of the great disappointments about reading the list this year was again seeing more men than women, despite a 20 per cent increase in female nominations and honours in the last decade. This Australia Day, 651 men were nominated for the general division of the Order of Australia awards, compared with 320 women. That is 66 per cent men and 34 per cent women. The honours list recognised 475 men and 252 women. That is 65 per cent men and 35 per cent women. What is worse, according to an excellent article by Fairfax's Tom McIlroy, is that there were no female nominations in six of the 31 categories, including building and construction, engineering, information technology, and surveying and mapping. Only one woman was nominated in science, technological developments and research development— compared to 20 men. Despite the parlous nomination rate, particularly in these six categories, nearly 79 per cent of women who were nominated made the list, compared to 73 per cent of men. So there is a better chance of women receiving awards if they are part of the mix.

So I am urging every member of this chamber to make a call out to their communities to nominate women in advance of the 2017 Queen's Birthday and 2018 Australia Day honours lists. That starts with identifying and nominating women. How about we all nominate, look for, one woman a week. Think laterally. Do not just default to the CEOs, the managing directors, the entertainers, the professors, the heads of departments, the deans or the VCs. Think creatively. Think about all the extraordinary women you meet each day in your role as their representative and, most importantly, nominate them. Nominate these extraordinary woman because, as I said, the more women in the mix, the more women who will get up.

On Australia Day, I proudly renewed my membership of the Australian Republic Movement. I also started compiling my list of extraordinary Canberra women. I am looking forward to getting underway with those nominations. I encourage Canberrans to find out how to nominate at www.gg.gov.au. We need one woman a week, Canberra. We need one woman a week, Australia. Let us get these figures from one third to one half to reflect the population and contribution of today's modern Australia. The diversity, the depth and the sophistication of today's modern Australia mean 50 per cent women.

Lisa Chesters (Bendigo, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This motion gives all of us a chance to stand up and acknowledge our recipients of OAMs on Australia Day. In Bendigo, we had two brilliant Bendigonians acknowledged. I would like to acknowledge their achievements and recognition at the beginning of my contribution. It is fitting that the member for Murray is in the chamber whilst I mention these two outstanding individuals because, when he was the Minister for Veterans' Affairs in Victoria, he would have worked closely with Cliff Richards, OAM, and Susan McQueen, OAM. Both have been acknowledged for their contribution to veterans in central Victoria.

Cliff, who is a well-known and well-loved character— not just amongst the veterans' community but amongst the Bendigo community—served in the Australian Army during the Vietnam War. On his return, he joined the RSL, even though it was not popular to do so at the time. He has also been actively involved in Scouts. In 1997, Cliff was elected as the Senior Vice-President of the Bendigo District RSL. In 2002, he became the president. One of the things that Cliff has done so well is the way in which he has reached out to schools, to the younger generation, to involve them in the veterans' community. A number of innovative and amazing programs have flourished under his leadership at the Bendigo RSL. I must acknowledge the work he has done with the Bendigo South East College as well as the work he has done with the Bendigo redevelopment and revitalisation project in both Pall Mall and their outdoor museum.

Susan McQueen was also acknowledged, receiving an Order of Australia Medal for her services to veterans and their families. It is an odd place to have it, but there is a wonderful volunteer based service being run from the Bendigo Railway Station. On the left-hand side is the home of the veterans support group and organisation that they run. She began volunteering for the Central Victorian Vietnam Veterans Support Centre 30 years ago and, today and for many years, has been the centre's administrator. She now oversees a team of about 30 volunteers.

Her husband is a Vietnam veteran, and he currently works alongside her to assist veterans and their families. What is remarkable about this service and it being volunteer based is that they support people from all over Australia. They support veterans and their families navigate their way through a complex system. Susan talks about how quite often when veterans come to see her or to speak to her they put their hand up to say, 'Look, I'm not as bad as others,' or 'Do I really need this?' or 'Can you help me find my way through the system?' She is wonderful in the way in which she receives them and does the work, day in and day out. She was completely overwhelmed and shocked to receive the reward because she says she does it for the veterans, for their families and for the love of the community. These are just two of the many people who have been recognised over the years from the Bendigo community.

I would also, in this speech, like to acknowledge the ongoing contribution of other OAM winners, including: Valerie Broad, recognised for the tireless work she has done for the local arts community, in particular the Bendigo Youth Choir; and Dr Adel Asaid, who is ensuring that so many people in central Victoria have access to GP services. He has clinics in multiple locations and, without his GP clinics, people in towns like Elmore, Rochester, Boort and Heathcote would not have access to GP services—from the clinic based in Strathfieldsaye all the way out to these small towns in the area.

You cannot list recipients of this great honour in Bendigo without acknowledging the ongoing contribution of Gordon McKern. He is an institution within himself in Bendigo, and it is hard to go to a public function in Bendigo without bumping into Gordon McKern, whether it be on the arts, the inventors awards or a citizenship ceremony. Gordon is a great advocate for Bendigo—a great advocate for Bendigo businesses, community and council.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the tireless efforts and ongoing contribution that Patti Cotton makes to our community. She is somebody who speaks her mind and stands up for those who are most in need. We are very lucky to live in a part of the world like central Victoria, and it is great that so many central Victorians continue to be acknowledged through this program: the Order of Australia. Congratulations, once again.

Maria Vamvakinou (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.

Sitting suspended from 13:28 to 16 : 00