Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr Speaker, as this is my first contribution in this place in the 42nd Parliament, I extend my congratulations to you on your assuming your new office. On the adjournment debate tonight, I would like to speak about a very special group of people—an unheralded group of people who mostly reside in my electorate of Holt. I have presented awards to the people whose names I will read out shortly as acknowledgement of their contribution to making our community a better place to live in. I did that on Australia Day because these people represent what is best about Australia. People who volunteer their time, their efforts and their energies are often unheralded and often go unrecognised. They are people who slip beneath the radar. You do not read about them in the Herald-Sun, the Age or any of the other papers in this country, but you walk past them in the street every day—people that you do not recognise; people that do not want to be recognised.

In an earlier contribution—I think it was yesterday—a speaker in this House said that one of the quintessential Australian characteristics is tolerance. I actually think there is another quintessential Australian characteristic, and that is called ‘understatedness’. People who volunteer like to understate the contribution that they make. So, on behalf of the community in Holt, I want to recognise these people. Some of them were quite literally dragged to the stage because they did not want to be recognised. The strength of what they do is not for the glory or for the honour; they do it because they gain a quiet satisfaction from it. This is very Australian. That is why on Australia Day at the Betula Reserve in Doveton, during an event run by the Doveton Eumemmerring Neighbourhood Renewal, on behalf of the Holt community I presented them with the Holt Australia Day Award—a certificate, a native plant from the Cranbourne Botanical Gardens and a desktop flag.

They will probably hate me for doing this, but I want to read their names into the parliamentary record. The recipients of the Holt Australia Day Award are: David Anning, Kerry Baker, Gillian Balfour, Naomi Bezeley, Caitlyn Berkers, Elva and Vern Board, Jack Cahir, Sue Crisp, Barry Cutchie, Les Eales, Gayle Errington, Vanassa Gerdes, Ken Harris, Jim and Veronica Hill, David Lowe, Michelle Lowrie, Peter McHugh, Karin McLean, Ruth Murray, Russell and Judy Owen, David Pal, Diana Polimeni, Grace Ramos, Simon Reeves, Irene and John Schmode, Bernard Simpson, Jan Trezise, Denny Van Mannenberg, Max Walker, Heather Weston, and two organisations, the Warren Opportunity Shop and the Narre Warren State Emergency Service.

I obviously do not have time to detail all the services that these people and organisations have provided, but I want to give the House and people who may be listening just a snapshot of the work that these people do. Unfortunately, time does not allow me to detail all of the work that they do to make our community a much better place.

I would briefly like to talk about Kerry Baker. Kerry has been a tireless volunteer at the Hampton Park Primary School. She has served as president and vice-president on the school council. For over 10 years, Kerry has been raising funds for the school and working to gain grants for projects such as the school chaplaincy, water conservation and a breakfast club.

Gillian Balfour works tirelessly with the Doveton Neighbourhood Learning Centre’s Home and Community Care program. She supports the elderly through a range of social and interactive activities. Gillian is also involved in the Gardens, Kitchens, Togetherness program, working to bring people from various backgrounds together.

Barry Cutchie has dedicated hours of work to those less fortunate than us. He has raised over $80,000 for Ugandan children over the past two years. He has also provided support to a school for the blind in the Philippines. In 2007 and 2008, he led teams to Uganda to build Berwick House and the Casey City Class Room. He also runs the Christmas carols on Christmas Eve called Carols by Twilight in Max Pawsey Reserve. This event is attended by over 3,000 people. A number of the Sebastian family sing there. I do not think there is a member of the Sebastian family that cannot sing or dance. They are an incredibly talented family. Another person I wanted to talk about is Ken Harris, a financial counsellor. I could go on because the stories of these people make our community a much better place to live in. It was my great honour as their local member to present the award— (Time expired)