Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tasmania's longest-serving local government mayor, Brighton Council's Tony Foster, died peacefully at the age of 81 yesterday, 27 May, after a short illness. Tony served on the council for 35 years, for 27 as mayor. He retired three years ago, aged 78, having overseen significant growth and development in the Brighton municipality. Tony's years of service to the community were recognised by an Order of Australia in 2005, upgraded to a Member of the Order of Australia in 2015. Tony was quietly spoken and always a gentleman to deal with. In his time as mayor he lobbied for and won hundreds of millions of dollars in federal and state infrastructure funding, including for the Brighton Transport Hub, highway upgrades, the new Bridgewater Bridge and Brighton high school. Tony was a passionate advocate for better education. His legacy is a bigger, better Brighton that thousands of Tasmanians are flocking to. Tony is survived by his wife, Noeline, and sons Stephen and James, and he will be greatly missed by the Brighton community. Vale, Tony Foster.

I also acknowledge Launceston City Football Club legend Peter Mies, who died two weeks ago. Peter recently turned 88, and he missed his first game in decades after becoming ill. Peter was born in the Netherlands, and he moved to northern Tasmania with his late wife, Christina. He helped build the Launceston club from the ground, helping create the soccer field that the club now calls home in Prospect Vale from wasteland. Peter's son, Roger, is also a club legend, and his grandchildren Noah and Olivia have played in the top tier of association football in Tasmania. His inspiration goes beyond his family, where he inspired generations of players to play in the iconic black and white stripes of his beloved club. Just 12 months before his passing, the Meander Valley Council helped fund a short film of Peter talking of his life in football, which is now a treasured piece of history for the family and the club. Vale Peter Mies; you will be missed by family and friends, and also by your club and the wider football community.

Last week was National Volunteer Week, and on Wednesday I was invited to Brighton Council's Volunteer of the Year Awards for 2024, presented at the Civic Centre in Bridgewater. I acknowledge some of the fantastic volunteers who were acknowledged for their incredible contributions to the community. The Community Event of the Year was won by the Tea Tree Community Hall committee for their 200th birthday celebrations. The Young Volunteer of the Year was awarded to Stevie Coe for her work across multiple Smith Family Learning Clubs in the community, offering free afterschool tutoring. Community Volunteer of the Year was awarded to Caroline Bedelph from the Brighton Community Food Hub. Caroline and the food hub team tirelessly source low-cost food and grocery items so families have access to affordable food via the hub, and she graciously accepted that award on the entire team's behalf.

Brighton Mayor, Leigh Gray—who took over from Tony Foster—was also able to formally acknowledge local award winners from the Keep Australia Beautiful national awards, presented in Gascoyne Junction in WA earlier this month. The Dame Phyllis Frost award was awarded to Joselle Griffin from Australian Red Cross Tasmania. A Bridgewater local, Joselle embodies community empowerment through participatory approaches rooted in her Tasmanian Aboriginal heritage. As a place-based worker at the Red Cross, she tirelessly champions asset-based community development, fostering grassroots initiatives like the food hub. Highly commended in the young achievers category was the Brighton Youth Action Group—this is a group of young people who are simply amazing, and it has been a real privilege to be invited to a number of their events and to witness their ongoing growth and confidence. Huge congratulations to all the nominees and winners.

I'm sure that every member of the House agrees that volunteers in this country are the beating heart of all our communities. They make a lasting impact on people's lives. I know many of us—all of us, perhaps—would've been involved in Volunteer Week last week, and we thank each and every volunteer across the wide spread of organisations for all the incredible work they do and the contributions they make. They are absolutely invaluable.