Sharon Bird (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to take the opportunity to recognise some amazing local people in this debate in this chamber today. Of course the Australia Day honours are always something that, as local members, we look to with great anticipation to see which wonderful locals have been recognised in that year's list. I was very pleased to see four people from my electorate in this year's honours list. I would like to say that I think all of them are absolutely exemplary and worthy of the awards that they received.

First of all, there was Professor Justin Yerbury, who received the Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to education and research in the field of biological sciences. I have talked about Justin and the amazing work that he and his research team are doing before in this place, whilst Justin himself manages the motor neurone disease that has hit him and is something that his family has had a long history with, very sadly. He is a professorial fellow in neurodegenerative disease at the University of Wollongong and is spokesperson for Motor Neurone Disease Australia. He was one of the players with the Illawarra Hawks in the National Basketball League in 1995-96. Many may remember Justin from when he featured in an Australian Story episode on the ABC in 2018 about his journey with motor neurone disease, the story of his family and those who have been impacted by it, his own transition from an elite sportsperson to a student to a researcher in that field and the amazing work that he's doing. He's the author of 55 scientific papers and he was also, as I have previously reported to the House, Wollongong's Citizen of the Year in 2019. Justin would be really angry with me if I didn't acknowledge, as he always does, the partnership in his work of his wife, Rachel, and his daughters, Talia and Maddie, and their many family and friends and his work colleagues, an amazing group of people, who support his work and the collaborations that he undertakes.

Ray Brown received the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to conservation and the environment. He is the current manager of the amazing Illawarra Grevillea Park. He was involved in the establishment of the park and has been volunteering there since 1997. He is a founding member and special projects officer of the Black Diamond Museum, a very important community museum in our area, which holds the heritage of the local mining community. Congratulations to him.

Congratulations also to Rob Edwards, who received a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the international community of Fiji. I know Rob well and he does amazing work. He is a founding member of the Its Time Foundation, which provides clean, free energy for lighting and computers, and transforms educational opportunities for children in Fiji. Its Time has installed significant battery-supported solar systems in 22 schools. Rob also founded the Good Health Great Futures, the Health Presenter, Plastic-free Oceans and co-founded Resilient Women in Fiji. He is a worthy recipient.

Colleen Mandicos, who I have known for many years, received the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to aged welfare. Colleen was the chair of the Multicultural Aged Care Illawarra since 2000 and a director since 1989. She was the executive manager of aged and disability services with CatholicCare Wollongong from 1999 until 2010 and was a member of the management committee of Interchange Illawarra for 15 years as well as being chair of the Illawarra Multicultural Village Hostel Group since 1997. Colleen is absolutely dedicated to the welfare of our ageing population locally and really deserved that recognition.

I would also like to recognise a group of people who received the Wollongong City Council awards as part of the Australia Day celebrations. Wollongong City Council always puts on a really great evening of entertainment. My congratulations to all of them and to the committee that organised that. I have previously acknowledged the top three recipients: the Citizen of the Year, Geoff Phillips; the Senior Citizen of the Year, Val Fell; and the Young Citizen of the Year, Ian Steven Muhayimana. But I would like to acknowledge the other recipients today.

The Arts Achievement Award went to Mick Berghuis. Mick has inspired hundreds in the Wollongong community and beyond through his leadership and creativity. He's instituted musical initiatives at various schools. He's had a long association with the Illawarra Jazz Club—in fact, more than 40 years, having been a founder—and he's the creator and founder of the Swingaleles Ukulele Group, which is regularly to be seen at community events. So congratulations, Mick.

The Cultural Achievement Award went to the Arcadians Theatre Group. They have been delivering amazing productions since 1964 and are certainly very valued by our local community. They are a registered charity, and they're well known for their generosity in providing support to all of our local charities and worthy causes. Their participants, actors, backstage people and technical people range from six to 96, so they've certainly got the whole population covered.

The Sports Award went to Gerry Doyle. Gerry is the author of three books on sport which recognise Wollongong as a sports breeding ground and also celebrate the city's cultural and community histories. His books have been used as anecdotal and official history of the Wollongong Showground and the Illawarra Rugby League and Rugby Union communities, and he's a very well-loved local person.

The Outstanding Innovation Award went to the Make-Do Library of Things. This is a do-it-yourself space. It's a volunteer-run, not-for-profit organisation, and it provides an innovative service for the people of Wollongong. It allows people to borrow the things they would otherwise have to buy and potentially only use once, as well as to learn how to ensure the longevity of things like tools, clothes and other items around their home. It first opened in Bulli, and it's now opened in Port Kembla. It provides a system available to everyone across Wollongong.

The Outstanding Achievement Award went to Dr Mohit Tolani. Dr Tolani has a dental practice that provides free dental care to marginalised community members and those who otherwise might not get access to oral health care. He's very well regarded.

The Community Group Award went to the Illawarra Cancer Carers Inc. I have run into them all over the place when they have been fundraising to support people with cancer and their families. They drive patients to the cancer care clinic. This year they will celebrate their 30th year of operation. In that time, they've raised more than $4.8 million for cancer carers in the Illawarra, an amazing achievement.

The Diversity and Inclusion Award went to the Strangeways Ensemble, a great group formed in collaboration between the Disability Trust and the Merrigong Theatre Company. They have developed a professional theatre collaborative where people with a disability can showcase how absolutely amazing they are.

The Wollongong to the World award went to Professor Peter Quinn. He has been involved with the world's largest optical and radio telescopes. While he's based in Western Australia, he is regularly in contact with our science centre and planetarium and the university. The second Wollongong to the World award went to Jennifer Condon, who is based in Germany. She is a professional conductor and has an extensive operatic repertoire.

The Lord Mayor's Award went to Jarred Dyer. He proves disability is no barrier and has shown an exemplary standard in the sports that he participates in. The other Lord Mayor's Award went to the Scouting Movement of Wollongong. Of course, I hardly need to put on the record of this place how important the Scouting movement is. I think all of my colleagues would know that, and it is just as much the case in my local area, where the local Scouts movement, the volunteers who run it and the amazing people who contribute to it were recognised with a very well-deserved award.