Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The electorate of Macquarie is full of hard workers who go above and beyond their paid jobs. The efforts during the recent fires and floods are proof that in the Hawkesbury in the Blue Mountains the community comes first. It's important that we pause to celebrate people who have made these communities what they are, just as Hawkesbury council did on Australia Day.

Mal Bobrige was awarded Citizen of the Year after 27 years of serving the local RFS. He joined the Rural Fire Service in 1980 and has been an active member at the Blaxland Ridge Rural Fire Brigade, being the longest standing captain after taking on the role in 1995 and holding it for 13 years. It's very appropriate that this year, after a fire-affected summer, Mal takes out Citizen of the Year. I note he's also a member of the Colo Heights RFS, so he's a man who plays many roles within that wonderful organisation and we can't thank him enough for his service.

The Young Citizen of the Year was given to Jesse Wijnans for his work in promoting inclusivity at McHappy Day, Hawkesbury Youth Fest and Hawkesbury Community Outreach Services.

Diane Sweeny was presented with the Volunteer of the Year Award for her full-time commitment to the Hawkesbury City Salvation Army for the past six years. She coordinates the wonderful Hope Market run every Tuesday.

Madyson Disbray has supported aspiring artists in the Hawkesbury through the church bar's music nights and was awarded the Community Arts Award. We have fantastic musicians and Madyson provides a terrific venue in a lovely old converted church.

One of two local hero awards went to the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Specific Resource Centre, an important resource in the Hawkesbury. Michelle New's hard work as founder and CEO of the centre was recognised. And Michelle is reaching out to bushfire victims as part of the recovery. Richie Benson also received the Local Hero Award for his hugely successful Koala Fest. I have been pleased to be at all his Koala Fests. He was also recognised for his work with Cumberland Reach Landcare, a group he founded as a 21-year-old to improve the riverbank. The Koala Festival is a terrific event, and I think more than 1,000 people attended last year to learn about the importance of preserving the local koala population—something that is now under terrible pressure in the wake of the fires.

Pink Finss is a much loved group in our community, having been around for a decade. They received the Community Organisation of the Year Award after expanding their services to cater for women with all types of cancer, supporting women and their families from the site of the old Hawkesbury hospital—a big congratulations to them.

Reducing, reusing and recycling was celebrated in the awards when Hawkesbury Remakery received the Environment Award. Their work has resulted in items being redirected from landfill and put into use in the repair cafe. The historic loder house is now not only a sustainable space but one that encourages creatives to collaborate and cultivate their craft.

The Cultural Heritage Award went to the Hawkesbury Schools Harvest Project run by Windsor High. For 10 years students have explored and promoted local produce in their own classrooms and local primary schools, creating an appreciation for the Hawkesbury as the food bowl that it is. This is the second year running that Windsor High students have won one of the annual awards.

The All Abilities Sportsperson Award went to Renee Hardy, who's sporting journey I've followed for many years. She's the national hammer throw champion for her age. Sandy Freeman who's held two special Olympics world records in 200 metres backstroke and 4 x 100 metres freestyle relay also received that award. Madeline Boyle was awarded Sportsperson of the Year as one of the best archers in Australia. Jasper Sinclair won the Junior Sportsperson of the Year as captain of the North Richmond Cricket Club under 13s.

Congratulations to all these Hawkesbury achievers and to Hawkesbury City Council for recognising them at your annual awards, and also to Peter Frazer, a fabulous road safety advocate from the other side of my electorate in the Blue Mountains who was present for that event.

The Blue Mountains has recognised the achievements of its citizens at its annual Australia Day event. I was very pleased to be joined by the Leader of the Opposition for that day as we took time to reflect on our local heroes and their achievements. One was Winmalee High teacher Madeleine Sheehy, who was celebrated for her dedication as a drama teacher—a position she has been in for more than 20 years; she won't like me saying that! In her time, she's fostered a love of performing arts in so many students both in Winmalee High and the local primary schools. My son is one of those whose love of drama was fostered under her steady gaze and encouragement. One of her most ambitious projects followed the 2013 bushfires. It was a verbatim piece which took real words from real people and turned them into a play. She devised with her students straw hats, thongs and toothbrushes, which, for those of us from the Winmalee area, very much summed up some of the things that happened during those fires. Students interviewed many people involved in the bushfires and created a fantastic dramatic stage production. We're all thrilled to see Madeleine reluctantly be on stage herself without a character to get her award.

We have many worthy senior citizens in the mountains. John Wakefield was awarded Senior Citizen of the Year for his work with the Rotary Club of the lower Blue Mountains. A former police officer and a Rotarian of many, many years, including as a former district governor, John has continuously advocated for child protection policy both in Australia and abroad and has made an extraordinary contribution not just to our community but more widely. Coralie Richmond was also awarded a senior citizen award, for her work as a dedicated teacher and advocate, along with Greg Chidgey, who walked—wait for it—2,654 kilometres from the Blue Mountains to Cairns and raised $26,000 for multiple sclerosis. He did this on his own, pulling his belongings in a little trailer behind him when the car that was going to support him dropped out at the last minute. The photos of him doing this with injuries, which of course happen to anyone walking that sort of distance, show an extraordinary feat. The money that he's raised for multiple sclerosis will be very much appreciated.

The Blue Mountains Environmental Citizen of the Year award went to Margaret Baker for her work in documenting and preserving our precious Blue Mountains ecosystem, which is under really serious threat as a result of the fires. The Community Achievement of the Year award was given to the whole of the emergency services in the Blue Mountains to recognise their tireless work during the fires. And it was a treat to see the entire Springwood District Basketball Association under-16 women's representative team celebrated as the young citizens of the year. Congratulations to all of those who received awards and thank you to every one of you for the daily commitment you make to the Blue Mountains.

We continue to see the construction of an airport in Western Sydney. It's going to be the size of Heathrow but we don't yet know what the flight paths will be. It's no secret that I'm not a fan of this airport. My view is that the flights will fundamentally change the quality of life that we chose when we moved to the Blue Mountains and to the mountainside of the Hawkesbury. The Forum on Western Sydney Airport is the sole consulting body for this airport, as far as residents go, and the representation we have as a Blue Mountains community is disappointing. I have repeatedly asked to be appointed. While the member for Lindsay is a member, I'm under no illusion that she has any intention of representing her neighbours in Macquarie. I'm very disappointed to hear that the chair of FOWSA, Professor Peter Shergold, has resigned. I think his desire to see strong community engagement is genuine, despite the constraints under which the forum operates.

What is a disgrace is that we don't have any information about the flight paths. The government says that this is quite normal and cites examples of both Brisbane and Perth airports having new runway projects at the moment, following a similar process. But these are not new airports; these are extensions to existing airports. It is absolutely unacceptable to my community that we do not have any engagement on this issue. We also have concerns that an engineer from my electorate, Don Carter, has raised. They show that the noise levels predicted for the lower Blue Mountains are fundamentally wrong. He has looked at the noise levels measured by Airservices and done his own measurements, and compared that to what was in the EIS and found that neither his nor the Airservices noise measurements correlate in any way. This government needs to be honest about the noise that Western Sydney will face.