Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition (Social and Community Affairs)) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Awards in the Australian honours system represent the highest level of recognition that can be accorded by our nation for attainment of outstanding achievement and service. The honours announced on Australia Day this year recognise and promote community values and celebrate what is important and unifying in national life. So I was delighted when Dr Tim Flannery was awarded 2007 Australian of the Year, recognising his contribution in several fields: his efforts in trudging through the highlands of New Guinea, risking his life in discovering five unknown tree kangaroos; his book The Future Eaters, raising the attention of the world to the unsustainability of rampant consumerism; and as a passionate and convincing advocate for the reality of climate change and the dire and unavoidable science revealed in his more recent work, The Weather Makers. Those of us who have had the privilege of meeting Tim Flannery know that he is an exceptional person, vitally passionate about our planet and well deserving of this honour.

Australia Day began with the announcement of the Australian of the Year award for an outstanding environmental warrior and was followed by the general Australia Day honours list. Perth scientists Robin Warren and Barry Marshall won a Nobel prize for their work on a humble stomach bacterium, and, as well as being Western Australia’s Australians of the Year, joined another 575 people honoured in the Australia Day honours list, ranging from the business elite, philanthropists and doyennes of the arts to volunteer firefighters and religious leaders. It was interesting to see that women made up less than a third of the list. Of the 158 women named, Wimbledon champion Reverend Margaret Court was awarded an AM, as was RMIT Vice-Chancellor Margaret Gardner and champion aerial skier Alisa Camplin.

Susan Alberti’s daughter died from a diabetes related illness in 2001, which compounded her conviction as an advocate for diabetes research and care. She is the National President of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and a well-known philanthropist and fundraiser. Many of us in this chamber were inspired by Susan last year when she spoke at the Kids in the House event organised by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Her award was justly deserved.

Joy Hruby, a regular but, at 79, the oldest entrant in the Tropfest short film competition, has been recognised for more than half a century of involvement in the arts and entertainment industry. As well as her filmmaking forays, Mrs Hruby is a stalwart of community television. Working from her home studio she films and edits Joy’s World, 1,000 episodes of which have been broadcast on Channel 31 since 1989. She started Studio J actors’ agency in 1969 and has published a book, Dubbo Dazzlers, about her time entertaining soldiers in World War II. She was joined by Neil Armfield, the Artistic Director of Company B Belvoir. Company B’s production of Keating! continues to be a sell-out everywhere it is performed, and the national season is being extended. As well, The Adventures of Snugglepot & Cuddlepie and Little Ragged Blossom, a musical directed by Armfield based on May Gibbs’s stories, had extra shows added to its Sydney Festival season to meet the demand.

But the awards also recognised the efforts of lesser known community workers, and I would like to extend my congratulations to them in recognition of their service to their communities. John Weatherstone from Gunning has been a tireless advocate for sustainable farming and a Landcare activist. His property, Lyndfield Park near Gunning, was used to showcase sustainable farming practices to Prince Charles during his visit here in 2005. John is a wonderful community champion, providing leadership, advice and counselling to farmers struggling to cope with the current drought. He is deputy captain of the local bushfire brigade and patron of the Goulburn Field Naturalist Society and is involved in the Jerrawa Creek Landcare Group and the Yass River Valley Revegetation Project. In his spare time he is an active volunteer with the Kairos prison ministry program at the Goulburn jail.

Terry Crooks, another Goulburn identity, was awarded for his contribution to the funeral industry and for his community work. Terry is a life member of the Australian Institute of Embalming and serves on the board of the Australian Funeral Directors Association. As well, Terry has been the backbone of the Goulburn Lions Club and a volunteer with the Waminda aged-care complex and the Salvation Army for many years. These are local heroes whose contributions to our communities so often slip under the radar. Theirs is a passion for community action—for giving and for doing what they can to assist others.

The environment featured strongly in the awards. I was delighted to learn that Garth Dixon, a former lecturer at the Bathurst CAE, and then, prior to his retirement, the Goulburn CAE, received an honour for his long-time work in nature conservation. He too is a founding member of the Goulburn Field Naturalist Society and a long-serving member of the Conservation Council of the South Eastern Region. Dr Ken Henry, best known for his work in Treasury, was also recognised for his service to the community in the area of welfare and care of native wildlife. Warren Somerville from Bathurst was honoured for his work in developing a significant and valuable collection of minerals and fossils which he donated to the Australian Mineral and Fossil Museum.

But community services were recognised across all sectors of society. John MacKenzie from Eumungerie, near Bathurst, was recognised for his service to the community through the RSL. Janis Gerard, also from Bathurst, was awarded for her contribution to the New South Wales Secondary Principals Council and as Principal of Bathurst High School.

Our rural communities have shown remarkable resilience through the current drought, and it is in large part because of the work of people like Dr John Dyce from Forbes, who has been working as a general practitioner there for 54 years. Dr Dyce has served his entire career as a GP and obstetrician in that community. We can only imagine what he has seen in that time. Apart from his front-line work in general practice and obstetrics, Dr Dyce also sat on the board of the Forbes ambulance service and is an honorary lecturer and former examiner for St John Ambulance.

Recognising the importance of local community services, Dr Dyce is a foundation member of Forbes Preschool. He believed that country practice offered the opportunity of a much wider range of work and the obligation to follow the patient all the way through the system, providing a continuity of care that is not available in city practices. In his time, Dr Dyce has delivered about 3,500 babies—often over three generations of babies from local families have been delivered by him. He has been a strong supporter of the decision by the School of Rural Health at the University of Sydney to establish a medical training facility at Forbes as a way of encouraging more rural doctors into the health system.

Natalie Armstrong from Delegate is a stalwart of her community. She is involved in a series of local committees: the Hospital Auxiliary, the MPS steering committee and the Delegate Tennis Club. However, it was particularly in recognition of Natalie’s contribution to the Delegate Progress Association over 20 years, and her hard work to secure a credit union for Delegate through the credit care initiative and then to establish their combined rural transaction centre and community technology centre, that she was honoured this year. Natalie is indefatigable—a human dynamo who has also been the driver of several local projects, including refurbishing the old Nurses Cottage for accommodation purposes and establishing the Platypus Walk and the Federation Walk. Natalie is someone who has had the flair and skills to draw together the efforts of local volunteers.

There were several notable honours awarded to members of religious organisations, and I would like to mention two of those this evening. Richard Menteith was honoured for his work with Wesley Mission and Sister Margaret Mary Cameron for her service to the Catholic Church. Mr Menteith and Sister Margaret have used their talents to make a profound difference to people’s lives. Dick’s work at the Wesley Mission for 26 years, as corporate services chief since 1986 and prior to that as director of finance, has transformed the way in which the Wesley Mission can work among the homeless and those disadvantaged in fundamental ways. Sister Margaret’s contribution to the leadership of the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of Eastern Australia, her work in the Solomon Islands, her commitment to education programs to assist children with hearing impairments and her leadership and pastoral formation in the diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes demonstrate the important contribution of religious organisations and individuals to our society.

I was delighted to see that the work of the Country Women’s Association was recognised through the award to Mrs Gillian Richardson of Grafton. We all know of the work of the CWA and the important role that it is playing in communities all over Australia during the current drought. Sir James Gobbo, Chairman of the Council for the Order of Australia, said: ‘These people serve the community but do not seek accolades for themselves. By their actions they demonstrate the qualities of positive role models who are not only worthy of respect but encourage emulation.’ (Time expired)