Sam Rae (Hawke, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to recognise and commend Melton local Mr Ian Lawrey OAM, who has recently been awarded an RSL Australia life membership. I recently attended the Vietnam veterans remembrance service in Melton to commemorate Vietnam Veterans Day, and I was honoured to be present as this prestigious honour was bestowed upon Mr Lawrey.

A veteran of the Vietnam conflict, Mr Lawrey has been a driving force within the Melton RSL. Over years of service, Mr Lawrey has worked incredibly hard to help many, particularly young people, to understand the importance of commemoration. The Anzac Day parade in Melton is unrivalled. There is always a sea of schoolchildren standing shoulder to shoulder, all with a deep understanding of why they're there and why it's so important. This is a credit to Mr Lawrey's work in our community, building strong ties with a range of agencies, support groups, schools and governments.

Melton is also home to a dedicated memorial to the Vietnam War, also a result of Mr Lawrey's hard work and persistence. There is a long list of achievements attributed to Mr Lawrey and his work in our community. I want Mr Lawrey to know that those of us who are fortunate enough to know him are immensely proud of what he has achieved, and there could be no more worthy a recipient of this honour.

I recently had the honour of joining local charity Keeley's Cause as they distributed iPads as part of their iPads for children with autism or an intellectual disability program. Keeley's Cause was founded by Keeley Johnson, a young woman from my hometown of Ballan. Keeley founded the charity when she was just 13 years old, after being diagnosed with autism and an intellectual disability. Keeley's Cause has an important mission: to ensure that all children diagnosed with autism or an intellectual disability have the technology they need to ensure that they aren't left behind at school and through their other educational and therapeutic pursuits.

On Thursday last week I joined Keeley; her mum, Sharon; and a wonderful group of local families at the Melton Valley Golf Club as they were presented with iPads of their own. This took the total number distributed under this program to 332 iPads. This is an amazing effort from an incredible young woman. What's more, once these iPads are distributed to the children in this program, they then develop an ongoing relationship with the Keeley's Cause organisation. Their technology is updated at regular intervals, and they are given additional support to ensure that they can achieve to the best of their abilities through their educational pursuits.