Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On Sunday 9 August I was pleased to attend Cityhope Church's 'Day of Honour' service in the electorate of Blair. The church is located in Ripley, in Ipswich.

The Day of Honour arose from comments made by the former Liberal Deputy Premier, Sir Lew Edwards, the former member for Ipswich, to his son, now senior pastor of the church, Mark Edwards, that in 12 years of representing Ipswich in state parliament not once was he thanked by any church for his service to the community. In a moment that is akin to Mahatma Gandhi's comment, 'Be the change you want to see in the world,' Mark decided he would initiate this. This is the 15th year of Cityhope holding this service, a service to, in their words 'encourage, thank, appreciate and honour the tireless commitment and sacrifice of members of the community to the community'. Since it started honouring local, state and federal members in the area, it has rightly extended to the emergency service personnel, including the police, fire, ambulance, SES and rural firefighters, all in orange and various shades of blue uniform. About 100 of them were invited to the stage on Sunday morning.

I was pleased and thanked Mark for allowing me the opportunity to address the congregation along with the Mayor of Ipswich, Paul Pisasale. Each and every day, these wonderful emergency service personnel make a contribution to the people of Ipswich and its surrounds, often in difficult, dire and dangerous situations. They are always there when we need them. They were there in the floods of 2011 and 2013 and in the 1974 flood when I was a boy. They do not ask for thanks. That said, we do not thank them nearly enough, and that is why Cityhope's Day of Honour service is so special. I said to the congregation there that it is my favourite Sunday of the year.

I was there along with the Mayor of Ipswich, Paul Pisasale; the member for Ipswich, Jennifer Howard; and Jim Madden, the member for Ipswich West. I was touched, along with a lot of other people, to receive framed, handwritten letters of appreciation from children at the service. I met a young girl, Ashley, who actually wrote mine, and I got a photo with her after the service. She had the cutest smile, I can tell you.

Cityhope said they wanted everyone who attended the day of honour to feel truly honoured, and I can assure you that they did. I congratulate Cityhope's senior pastor, Mark Edwards, for hosting a wonderful and positive welcoming service and for the exceptional contribution the church makes to the Ipswich community. Under Mark's leadership, Cityhope has grown into a vibrant and significant church in the region. Thank you for what you do every day, Cityhope.