Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party) | Hansard source

It's my absolute pleasure to rise tonight to recognise Braddon's 2022 Australia Day award recipients. Their dedicated service to our region is worthy of national recognition in this place.

My dear friend and former colleague Libby Perkins from Gunns Plains has been recognised for her work advocating for returned service personnel and her service to the Ulverstone RSL and the Ulverstone visitor centre. Libby's story is a truly remarkable one. Joining the Australian Army at the age of 17, she was recruited to the highly classified division during the Vietnam War, a role that has been immortalised in the movie Enigma and the BBC series The Bletchley Circle. Given the highly classified nature of her work, Libby couldn't tell anyone the vital role that she was playing; she simply told people that she was a typist. She kept this secret for 30 years. During this time the records of her service were misplaced and lost. This meant that for three decades, when she marched on Anzac Day, she simply did so as a civilian. Finally, in 2001, she received her service medals, but it wasn't with the fanfare or recognition that her service deserved. They simply turned up in the mail. In 2019 Libby finally received the public recognition that she deserved when the top-secret decoder was chosen to lay a wreath at the dawn service at Villers-Bretonneux on behalf of the Australian RSL. Congratulations, Libby Perkins OAM.

In early 2020, the north-west coast of Tasmania faced the most significant COVID-19 outbreak in the country. It was during this time that Tasmania Police's Commander Western District, Debbie Williams, was tasked with coordinating the region's emergency response. With the virus in its infancy, there was no rule book or SOP to follow, but Commander Williams led with distinction through one of the most testing times in living memory. For your efforts during the COVID outbreak and as a trailblazer for women in policing, congratulations, Commander Debbie Williams APM.

Rose-Anne Emmerton from Ulverstone has been awarded the Emergency Services Medal for her 13 years of volunteering and leadership. Rose-Anne is currently the unit manager with the Central Coast State Emergency Service, one of only six female managers in the state. She was there during the 2016 Tasmanian bushfires. She was on the ground during the 2020 COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown along the north-west coast, conducting welfare and compliance checks. Rose-Anne's goal is to showcase the vital work that Tasmania's 550 dedicated SES volunteers undertake each day. They provide assistance to hundreds of Tasmanians 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, and I would like to add my voice to Rose-Anne 's advocacy. Volunteering with the SES is one of the most rewarding commitments that you can make to your community, and I would encourage anyone who's looking at volunteering to consider reaching out to their local SES. Congratulations, Rose-Anne Emmerton ESM.

For his commitment to the Ridgley community, Mr Graeme Jones has been awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal. Graeme was a founding member of the Ridgley Fire Brigade in 1978 and has continued to serve our community with distinction. Graeme's motivation is simply to give back, and I know that under Graeme's guidance our younger generation is being mentored by one of the best. Congratulations, Graeme Jones AFSM.

Devonport's Vicki Purnell founded Bridie's Blossoms and Blessings, an organisation that makes handmade care packages for families of stillborn and miscarried babies. Each care package has information on how parents can request a gift or a small keepsake quilt with their baby's name and birthdate on it, as well as a dad hanky. There are around six stillborn babies and 300 miscarriages in Australia each day. I thank Vicki Purnell OAM for shining a light on this heartbreak.

Congratulations also to Devonport's John Phillips OAM, recognised for his services to the finance sector and the sporting community, as well as for supporting those less fortunate in affordable housing. Summing up the view of our region's givers, John said: 'A community is simply about friendships and relationships that you build,' and I think this is a sentiment that encapsulates the electorate of Braddon.

Congratulations to each and every one of our 2022 Australia Day award recipients. We are indeed very proud of you all.

House adjourned at 20:00

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