Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to add my voice to the chorus of congratulations for the recipients of this year's Queen's birthday honours. These recipients, hailing from all walks of life across Australia, have selflessly provided their leadership, their insight and their compassion to the service of their communities and to the nation. As a proud Victorian, I wholeheartedly congratulate all the Victorian recipients of Queen's birthday honours. Each and every one of which is so richly deserved. But first I extend my warmest congratulations to Antony Green for being appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia, an AO. His electoral insight, especially on election night, has kept us all, on both side of the chamber, on the edge of our seats for many an election. In fact, he has been a feature of every election since I was 19 years old. Congratulations on a worthy and well-deserved honour.

More specifically I would like to congratulate and thank the following Victorian recipients who have so significantly contributed to the fabric of our society through their service and dedication in their particular fields. I congratulate Ms Marilyn Patricia Rowe OBE from Olinda in particular on being made a member, an AM, in the general division of the Order of Australia for significant service to the performing arts, particularly to ballet, as an artistic director, an internationally acclaimed performer and a competition jurist.

I congratulate the recipients of the Order of Australia Medal, OAM, in the general division. My sincere congratulations go to: Mr Donald John Barry from Melton West for his leadership and service to our nation's youth through the scouting movement, and also to the community; Ms Rosemary Margaret Birney from Montrose for her unwavering service to conservation and to the environment; Mr Ian Alexander Black from Hamilton for his vital service to preserving the community history of Hamilton and the western district; Mr William John Carr from Rokewood for providing essential service and leadership in coordinating rural health, and to the community of Rokewood; Mr Eric Brettell Causer from Hamilton for his important service to veterans and their families and to the community; Ms Elizabeth Anne Chapman from Benalla for her dedication and service to education and to the community; Mr Francis Edward Clark from Ballarat for his service to the community of Ballarat and for his efforts to assist people who are deaf or hard of hearing; Mr Geoffrey Gerard Fitzpatrick of Sassafras for his leadership and service to the areas of industrial and interior design; Mr Daniel Brenton Giles of Bendigo for his service to the people of Bendigo with a disability and to the community; Mr John Thomas Hanlon from Benalla for his passionate service to his community; Ms Sandra Rae Hills from Yering for her support and leadership to aged care in Victoria; Mr Graeme Ernest Kent from Buninyong for his service to the international community through humanitarian assistance programs; Mr Brian Thomas King from Bright for vital service to community health; Mrs Aylene Alice Kirkwood from Eaglehawk for her compassionate service to her community; Mr Edward Alfred Lovett from Wendouree for his service to the cause of the Indigenous community of south-west Victoria; Ms Heather Ann McCallum also from Wendouree for her leadership within the great Ballarat community; Mr Desmond Noel McNulty from Benalla for his service to the forest and timber products industry, and also to the community of Benalla; Mr William Gerard Melbourne of Seymour for his service to local government and to the community of the Mitchell shire; Mr Morgan Joseph Murphy of Sebastopol for his keen service to sport, particularly to swimming; Ms Donalea Patman from Ferny Creek for her active service towards animal welfare; Mr James Maxwell Porter of Yarrawonga for service to the community of north-east Victoria through a range of community initiatives and organisations; Mr Dale Andrew Potter of Dookie for service to the community of Dookie; Mr Glenn Bernard Ramage of Mount Beauty for his fun-loving leadership and approach to the community through music; Mr John Edward Richards from Ballarat for his service to the community and to the manufacturing sector; the late Mr Rex Hamilton Tate from Alexandra for his lifelong service to the community through a range of organisations; Mrs Janet Mary Torney from Ballarat for her service and leadership to the community of Ballarat; Mrs Helen Jean Wall from Gowangardie for her leadership and passion for service to women and to her community; Mr Carl Weaver from Melton for his selfless leadership and service to youth through the Scouts; and Mr Kenneth Hugh Whan from Benalla for his service to local government and to the community of Benalla.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate and pay my respect to the Victorian members of the Australian Defence Force and the nation's various public services who have also been awarded in this year's Honours List. Victorians number among the many recipients of the Public Service Medal, the Distinguished Service Cross and the various other military and civil honours. Many of these brave men and women are not able to be publically named due to their ongoing operational commitments.

I would also like to take a moment to offer personal and heartfelt congratulations to the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Counsellor Robert Doyle. Perhaps not everyone here is aware of this, but I have known Robert Doyle for many, many years—far more than I care to mention. For me Counsellor Doyle was formerly Mr Doyle, my most beloved English teacher    and a formative mentor. Mr Doyle—Counsellor Doyle, I should say; I still call him by his teacher's name—is the man who later in life brought me to the Liberal Party and encouraged me to run for public office. I owe him a lot—and not just for making poetry interesting, quite a tough gig—and I could not be happier for him for having received our nation's highest honour, being made a Companion of the Order of Australia. Counsellor Doyle has served his country, state, city and his community with distinction for decades, and this award could not be more fitting. I am very proud to call him a friend and I am very proud that he has received this honour.

There are two very special times of the year when the government and the community can express our sincere gratitude to those exemplary citizens who represent the very best of the Australian spirit. It is an absolute honour to be able to stand before the chamber today to name and honour those dedicated and conscientious Victorians. I thank the chamber for its indulgence.