Phillip Barresi (Deakin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

During the summer break from parliament many of us went back to our electorates and took the time to reconnect with our family, friends, the electorate and in most cases took what some of us believe was a well earned break. But while we were doing this, a number of Australians were once again dropping all personal and work commitments to fight bushfires, risking life, saving lives and delivering welfare support to the needy and disadvantaged in our community. Essentially, thousands of Australians were doing what they do best: volunteering their services for the benefit of our community.

It is because of these people and tens of thousands of others like them that nine years ago I introduced the Deakin Community Australia Day Awards—awards which seek to acknowledge the hardest working volunteers and community leaders in my electorate. On 25 January, as part of the Australia Day celebrations—I always do it a day early so they can enjoy the Australia Day activities the next day—I got another chance to pay my respects to some of these unsung heroes and to thank them for really making a difference to the lives of others. These heroes would otherwise be ignored through the regular Australia Day honours or through the local council’s often very selective acknowledgment of local heroes. The Deakin Community Australia Day Awards go some way to recognising the great efforts of these unsung heroes, without whom this country and the community of Deakin would be a mere shadow of what it is today.

The people we honoured that day came from a diverse range of backgrounds and ages. Yet they each share the same values of compassion, hard work and a tireless attitude for community involvement. They were people such as Victoria Lopez, a promising 20-year-old who has started her own group in eastern Melbourne called Hearts4Christ which engages in many social activities aimed at teaching valuable life skills for young people aged between 13 and 18, and hardworking community group leaders such as Marymae Trench who, during her years with the Reach Out for Kids program, has sought to expand and improve the standard of free services for Melbourne’s youth. I am pleased and honoured to be a member of the committee of management of Reach Out for Kids.

Then there are those, such as Angela Fitzpatrick, who struggle themselves and still find time to help others. Angela struggles daily with the rigours of multiple sclerosis, yet she is able to find the courage to assist other people gain access to local medical and care services to overcome their own disadvantage. Margaret Priestly is a great community volunteer who works for the Koonung cottage in my electorate. She has been instrumental in providing support services for families with children and been a rock of support to many in need. There is long-time resident Terry McDonald, with ongoing leadership roles in charitable organisations in Deakin and in surrounding Melbourne, from Reach Out for Kids to the Lord Mayor’s charitable trust.

This is only a sample of the 34 recipients I was honoured to meet and acknowledge that day—34 heroes in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne who, as I said, would otherwise not be recognised for their great deeds. The Deakin Community Australia Day Award winners know what strong communities mean and how to make them stronger. They are the backbone of the area, acting as a rock of support. And they are often the first to lend a helping hand to those in need.

The Deakin Community Australia Day Awards are, as I say each year, not meant to be rewards for their work but simply an acknowledgment of their service and an opportunity for me as their representative to say thank you. In most cases, they are very reluctant recipients of the awards because, as they say, they do not do it for the reward; they do it for the love of it and for the altruistic values which they uphold. I started these awards to bring attention to the often thankless tasks of these people. I know that through their efforts they inspire others. Our children need inspiration. They need role models and mentors. They need people to look up to, and these award winners, more often than not, come from their own backyard—perhaps their mum, their dad, their uncle, their neighbour—rather than some hero that they see on the television. It was a great honour to meet these people and to give them their awards. I seek permission to incorporate into Hansard a table of the recipients and the deeds and activities for which they were honoured. (Time expired)

Leave granted.

The table read as follows—