Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this afternoon to place on the record those in my community that were recently recognised at the Cairns Regional Council Australia Day Awards. These awards are always one of the highlights of the year, as they acknowledge those who have worked tirelessly to ensure our community is a great place to live, work and play. They are people who don't crave the limelight, but I certainly think that their work and contribution should be acknowledged.

I had the privilege of attending the awards with my beautiful wife, Yolonde. She was 2020's Cairns Citizen of the Year, which I'm very, very proud of. The 36 finalists across the eight award categories were all winners in my eyes. This year's award recipients included the Citizen of the Year, Ian Roberts; Young Citizen of the Year, Harrison Oates; Volunteer of the Year, Glynnis Kiernan; Sportsperson of the Year, Grant 'Scooter' Patterson; and Junior Sportsperson of the Year, Caleb Nissen. The Cultural Award went to Terry Doyle, the Junior Cultural Award went to Ashleigh Ung, and the inaugural COVID-19 Community Care Award went to Janine Bowmaker.

I also want to take the opportunity to acknowledge the many, many other unsung heroes in my community who don't make any official list. Their work in our community over the past years certainly hasn't gone unnoticed. To all of these people, I say thank you. Our community is far richer by your tireless work and selfless contribution.