Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to acknowledge the service of Reinoud Beijerinck to the State Emergency Service unit at Hornsby. Reinoud has served as unit commander for the last five years and as a volunteer for the New South Wales SES for the last 12 years. He has decided to step back due to work and family commitments.

Hornsby is one of the busier SES units in the state and Reinoud has proven his ability to manage and lead a great team, dealing with hundreds of jobs simultaneously and taking great pride in the Hornsby unit's capacity to handle a significant workload effectively. Reinoud's many achievements include coordinating the response to the 2018 Berowra hailstorm, which saw a mammoth effort from the Hornsby SES over many weeks. The remarkable response of the Hornsby SES is a testament to his leadership and his well-trained volunteers.

Reinoud oversaw the upgrade of the Hornsby SES unit to bring it up to standard and to enable management of large weather events. During his time as a unit commander, Reinoud has undertaken deployments to other parts of New South Wales and around the country. His commitment to serving our community extends beyond the SES—he is also a local scout leader. Reinoud will continue his service as chainsaw and incident management trainer within the New South Wales SES, as well as being an active field volunteer to support our local members and our community.

I want to thank Reinoud for his exemplary service to our community and for his ongoing dedication to equipping volunteers and leaders in our community with the skills they need to respond in a time of crisis. I remember during the Berowra hailstorm, which his own house had been affected by, Reinoud put himself last and his community first. That's the sort of service he has given our community.