Anthony Byrne (Holt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Wright for his comments. Obviously, they are sincerely heartfelt. Madam Deputy Speaker, it may come as a surprise to you, but many Australians feel we live in a divided country. They feel that we are divided between the rich and the poor, the employed and the unemployed, the haves and have-nots, the so-called elite Australians and ordinary Australians, and those who promote diversity and those who promote fear. In this divided society, in their view, the community feels in many ways more divorced and separated from political life than ever before. They feel that they have no voice. Perilously watching events occurring overseas, waiting for the potential storm of the next global financial crisis and watching the combat in this place, they yearn for a nation united and a sense of national purpose—a national vision. Many are tired of the deep political division, in this place in particular—intense, necessary but enervative to the national good. They want unity, they want vision, they want purpose, they want hope and they want to believe. As I reflect on these sentiments, I think that in many ways the answer is coming from the grass roots and going to the top. It is a quintessential facet of the Australian character to rally together for the common good. Be it flood or fire, driving rains or ferocious winds, Australians continuously demonstrate what makes this country great. We always rally together for the common good.

But this national characteristic is not confined to how we face emergencies. I see so much evidence of it in my own community, my own seat and my own neighbourhood. I see it in the efforts of those who selflessly volunteer their time to make our community a better place. These volunteers make an immense contribution to our local community on an ongoing basis. Through activities such as conducting magnificent Christmas carols to literally lighting up people's lives in the lead-up to Christmas to making toys for families with no money to coaching special soccer schools, this spirit shines so brightly and deserves to be recognized and acknowledged by the community at large.

These quiet heroes are the glue that binds our community together. Without their voluntary work, many of our community service and sporting groups would not exist. In my mind there is no better way to recognise these individuals for their effort than on Australia Day. Tonight I pay tribute to the 29 outstanding individuals and one organisation who received a 2012 Holt Australia Day Award for their contribution to the local community in my electorate. The 2012 Holt Australia Day Awards were presented at the Day of Nations celebrations in Hampton Park and at the Actively Diverse Day celebrations in Doveton, with a large crowd of families and friends turning out to support the recipients.

I will read their names into the record: Elizabeth Anning, Kathy Ashdown, David Bladier, Jayden Boyde, Bruce Dusting, Pam and Elvis D'sa, Cecelia Garlick, Peter Kreun, Mladen Krsman, John Francis Laughton, Wendy Murphy, George Nicol, James and Heather O'Keefe, Larry Sebastian, Tony O'Hara, Mary Aldag, Stanley Birkett, Chris Drysdale, Val Motta, Johnson Mun, Pathirage Wijitha Perera, Wendy Leigh Phillips, Hector De Santos, Paulinus Ronald Smith, Bob Tyler, Jeffrey Ware, Rob Wilson, and members of the Afghan Australia Philanthropic Association.

We heard their stories when we presented them with a framed certificate and a plant—an Australian native plant, which I thought was appropriate given that these people sink their roots into the soil of the community. After listening to these stories it was apparent again that, as a country, we are at our best when we come together. In my view, in Holt we do that better than just about anywhere else. I congratulate all those who received an Australia Day award for their exemplary community spirit and endless hours of volunteer work to make our community a better and safer place to live. These individuals are an example to us in this place and to our country at large.

In finishing, there is no doubt that there is a sickness in community spirit. There is disenchantment with the political process. There is a feeling among our community that their voices are not being heard, and that is to the detriment of our national good. I would just like to say to those here present and to our community at large that these heroes show us the way. Let us honour them by trying to be more like them in this place and elsewhere.