Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to acknowledge the good citizens of the city of Albany who were recognised on Australia Day for their contributions to their community. Albany is located on the south coast of my electorate of O'Connor and has a lower median income than Western Australia as a whole. However, in 2018, Albany residents donated more to large charities than any other regional locality in the state. These charities included the Salvation Army, Oxfam and the Royal Flying Doctor Service—fantastic causes one and all.

A major local charity the residents of WA's south coast have rallied behind is the Albany Community Foundation. The foundation was the co-creation of Albany businessman Jeremy Stewart, who was named Albany's Community Citizen of the Year at one of the Australia Day ceremonies I attended last week. Under the stewardship of Jeremy and his dedicated team the Albany Community Foundation has raised $565,000 since 2014, helping people who are doing it tough. This foundation embodies the spirit of giving and caring that has built and sustained communities throughout regional Australia.

Philanthropy Australia figures show that in 2017-18 Western Australians made the largest donation to charities—a very healthy $1,470 per donation. This is well above the national average of $846. The $634 million donated by Western Australians was an impressive 17 per cent of the national total.

In addition to his philanthropy, Jeremy was also recognised for his work as a board member of Albany Finance Limited and the Small Business Centre Great Southern. Jeremy is also president of the Manypeaks Cricket Club. To coin a cricketing phrase: he is what any Australian Test side, replete with specialist bowlers and batsmen, has very rarely unearthed down through the decades: a top-flight all-rounder. And it seems that there is something in the water at the Albany Community Foundation, because its success is intergenerational. Joining Jeremy on the Australia Day podium was Ashley McPhail, who received the Young Citizen of the Year award for her volunteer work on the foundation's board. Ashley reviews applications for assistance, coordinates events, and liaises with young people on behalf of the board. The foundation aims for funding to flow without red tape and identifies recipients who are willing to help themselves but lack the finance to do so. In short, the Albany Community Foundation is a homegrown success story that I commend as a model for grassroots action in any regional community.

I would like to finish by sending a big shout-out to all the Australia Day award winners in Albany. This includes the Senior Citizen of the Year, Colin France, who was lauded for his invaluable contribution to the city's music scene since moving to Albany in 1976. The 2021 Active Citizenship Award for a Community Group or Event went to Read Write Now Albany. For 40 years, their amazing volunteers have provided one-on-one tutoring for adults who want to improve their literacy. In closing, the spirit of philanthropy and empathy may only be recognised at ceremonies like the annual Australia Day awards but it is valued every single day throughout my vast and diverse electorate of O'Connor.