Michael Johnson (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Ryan recognition awards were initiated by me in 2002, following my election to the federal parliament. I speak here in the parliament as the member for Ryan, and it is a great privilege to continue to represent the electorate of Ryan. I initiated these awards as a way of saying thank you to the people of Ryan who give up so much of their time and who contribute very strongly and very widely to the community that we know in the centenary suburbs of The Gap, Chapel Hill, Kenmore, Indooroopilly, Taringa and many more.

Tonight I want to mention the names of the recipients of the Ryan recognition awards for 2005. It is very important that local members take the opportunity to acknowledge those in their communities who give very selflessly to their fellow Australians. I want to acknowledge Mr Warren Acton from Westlake, Pastor Ric Benson from Jindalee, Joanne Brown from Mount Ommaney, Wayne Budgen from St Lucia, Ryll Byrgin from Auchenflower, Di Dawson from Indooroopilly, Douglas Dow from Upper Brookfield, Peter Everton from Kenmore Hills, Michael Fitzgerald from Kenmore, Keith Hamilton from Westlake, Pamela Hardy from Jamboree Heights, Manju Jehu from Indooroopilly, Wilma Johnson from Middle Park, Malcolm Lancaster from Middle Park, Ken McMullin from The Gap, Simon Newcomb from Taringa, Michele Raineri from Kenmore, Ernie and Doris Raymont from Mount Ommaney, Bruce Siebenhausen from Jindalee, John Sharman from Brookfield, Kay Summerfield from Kenmore, Lindsay Tennyson from Toowong, Hana Torbey from Jindalee, Susan Viney from The Gap and Jocelyn Wilson from Fig Tree Pocket.

These were recipients of the Ryan recognition awards in 2005. I had the pleasure of hosting the ceremony last year. We had a wonderful evening ceremony and acknowledged the contribution of these people to their community. They come from all backgrounds and all walks of life, but the common thread that unites these Australians in my federal electorate of Ryan is that they have a strong commitment to their community.

I was pleased to see in today’s Australian that the Ryan electorate was named as ranking sixth in the levels of happiness of all 150 federal electorates in this country. While of course I would like to take credit for that, I think that the greater credit comes from the fact that those surveyed, interviewed or questioned on their levels of happiness reflected the broader community of Ryan. I am sure that those people are amongst the tens of thousands in the Ryan electorate who selflessly give of their time to all kinds of wonderful works. As the federal member for Ryan, I am delighted that in my work as a local member I am able to liaise with all kinds of organisations, from school P&C organisations to Rotary, Lions and the many other community based organisations that have as their sole focus improving the lives and the wellbeing of their fellow citizens of this great country.

We also know that the Australian government focuses a lot on young people. The National Youth Roundtable is a centrepiece of the Australian government’s youth consultation mechanism. That will continue this year, when again two young people from the Ryan electorate—Naomi Lim from Middle Park and Eve Campbell from St Lucia—will be coming to Canberra to represent the community of Ryan. These are two fine young Australians who I think reflect the very best of the young people of my community. Their sole focus is to make a difference and to learn not only about issues that affect them but also about important, wider community issues such as prejudice, alcohol abuse, drug abuse and homelessness. These are important issues that we in the federal parliament and as a government try to confront and to find solutions for. It is inspiring that young people are already looking at these kinds of issues as they mature and develop into the leaders of tomorrow.