Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

PERRETT () (): by leave—In Moreton electorate we recently honoured a number of local legends at my annual Moreton Volunteer Awards. These awards have become an important feature of the community calendar, an important reminder that we are not just individuals living in the same geographic location; we're a community working together. Unfortunately, we had to postpone our celebration earlier this year due to an outbreak of COVID, so I was very pleased to belatedly celebrate our wonderful 2021 recipients.

At the Wellers Hill Bowls Club I was joined by local state members the Hon. Mark Bailey MP, Peter Russo MP and Jess Pugh MP as well as by Nicole Johnston, councillor for Brisbane City Council's Tennyson Ward. Edward and his committee at Wellers Hill very generously allowed us to use their premises without charge. The Wellers Hill club do this in recognition of volunteerism in our community. People should go and have a meal there on weekends to support them. The food's great and the beer's even better.

The Moreton Volunteer Awards honour the hard work and volunteer spirit that is alive and well in Brisbane's southside. The recipients are outstanding representatives of people who care, people who step up, people who just know what needs to be done for their fellow Australians. The work they do varies, but each of them changes lives and makes those lives better. By their quiet example day after day they are signalling to the rest of us how to treat our neighbours.

Here are the recipients of the Moreton Volunteer Awards: Kigen Ahe, Leah Lang, Sue Nunn, Elizabeth Pu and Jack Wei, from St David's Neighbourhood Centre, whom I got to present awards to in person outside of Wellers Hill; John Brown and Jim Pascoe from Oxley Men's Shed; Jeff Brunne and Larissa Deake, from the Annerley Junction Festival Committee, who oversaw the biggest Junction Fest ever; and Mimi Chang, Benjamin Chen and Jessie Liu, from the Taiwan Women's League of Queensland. I've known Benjamin Chen for 20-plus years. He's an absolute legend.

Awards also went to Shou Men Chen and Kathy Yuen, from the Australian Cantonese Association; Hei (Hugo) Chen, from the Chinese Fraternity Association of Queensland Incorporated; Elizabeth Cohen-Rogers from Runcorn State High School P? Richard Copland, John Quak and Andrew Trail, from Community Plus+ at Yeronga; Michael Crosby, from the Normanby Hounds Rugby League Football Club; Leonie Crowe, from the Brisbane Dog Training Club; Jitendra Deo, a local community leader; Cheryl Desmarais, from the Ekibin Lions Club; Desley Griffiths, from Brisbane Vintage and Collectables; Rachna Gupta, a local charity fundraiser; and John Hogan and Phil Kyle, from the Sherwood Indooroopilly RSL Sub Branch.

John Hogan is actually 94 years old and has spent a lifetime volunteering for his church, the Sherwood Neighbourhood Centre and, over the past decade, the Oxley Men's Shed. He's the founding member and inaugural president of the Oxley Men's Shed. John was instrumental in working with the Brisbane City Council, St John's Church and the community to find a home for, build an executive for and establish the shed way back in 2011. John is an extraordinary ambassador for the Oxley Men's Shed and is a quiet champion supporting our local community.

I commend Teresa Howkins from the Sherwood branch of Australian War Widows; Geoff Ivett and Molly Neville from Sherwood District Meals on Wheels; Sophie Julian from the Sherwood Community Festival committee; and Dave Kent, Mary Lou Simpson and Noel Standfast from the Oxley Creek Catchment Association. I particularly mention Noel Standfast because he's from my hometown of St George.

I commend June McNicol. I particularly want to shout her out. She's a founding member and valued volunteer at Yeronga Meals on Wheels. June served as secretary of the Yeronga Meals on Wheels from its inception in 1971—'71!—and remained onboard until it merged with Southside Meals on Wheels in 2021. For over 50 years, June has dedicated her time to the Meals on Wheels mission to support the elderly within our community and reduce the risk of social isolation. While doing so, June has remained forward thinking and has adapted to change as needed, to ensure the organisation's ongoing success. As you can imagine, she's not the youngest person in the community, either!

I commend Modabera Popal from the Mashal-e Irfan Afghan Language School; Lila Pratap, the founder of the Damini Women's Association of Queensland; Karen Ramsey from the Sunnybank Rugby Union Club; Bruce Riddell, treasurer of the Annerley Baptist Church, who do great work with homeless people and on other matters; Ram Sumer from the Indian Senior Citizen Association; and Leigh Windsor from the Sherwood Neighbourhood Centre, who did so much during the recent floods in February.

Thank you to all of the recipients for making our community such a wonderful place and for giving so much back to my community of Moreton on the south side of Brisbane.