Rob Mitchell (McEwen, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I hope the member for Casey will pass on my congratulations to those people involved in that, because it is an important thing, and we who stood there and watched the fire come to our doorsteps know just how terrible that was.

On that note, it was a pleasure to be with the Prime Minister in Flowerdale in my electorate for the presentation of the inaugural National Emergency Medal, part of the Australia Day honours. The medal is an operational service medal which recognises significant and sustained service to others in a nationally significant emergency. The award acknowledges that there is more than one way to support a community during a crisis. And I would like to pay tribute to two outstanding recipients of the award from my community: Helen Kenney and Dr Anne Leadbeater.

In 2009 Anne was a community facilitator for the Murrindindi Shire before that fateful day, and she had just finished her master's thesis on disaster relief. How timely was that? During Black Saturday and the following weeks and months, Anne was a linchpin for the community and various agencies. She was a one-stop shop, organising and initiating comfort and communication. She brought structure and process to the chaotic situation. She managed to organise regular community meetings where people could access down-to-earth, credible information, and where the emergency services could pass on their consistent message to the community and coordinate their work. There is also Helen Kenney, who until last year was the captain of the St Andrews CFA. For 12 years, Helen as captain of the local CFA was a community leader defending her area in times of crisis. I know that she leaves behind an extremely proud legacy. Helen is an amazing person. She is short in stature but big in heart. You probably would not find a bigger heart in a person anywhere. I know that Helen has always been there and always been available for her community in helping them to get on with the rebuilding process. Her commitment to the CFA and to the local community are reasons why she is held in such high regard by many in our region, and her significant achievements have never gone unnoticed. On behalf of the people of McEwen I would like to thank both Anne and Helen for their goodwill to others and for their strength following what was a traumatic time for all of us.

Australia Day in McEwen, as always, was a very highly rewarding experience. It is a day when all Australians can take stock of what a great country we live in. I started the day at the Wallan Neighbourhood House breakfast, and I want to thank two great contributors to the Wallan community in Dot Evans and Pauline Cornish. Their dedication and spirit symbolises everything that is great about Australia Day: bringing the community together for a mandatory barbecue breakfast, some flag-waving, some song-singing and the recognition of great people.

I then went off to the citizenship ceremony at the town hall in Kyneton, in the Macedon Ranges. The Macedon Ranges are a great feature of the McEwen electorate. They also suffered fires on Ash Wednesday, back in 1983. I was honoured to be there to present a Community Achievement Award to McEwen residents Jean Dixon, Eane Whitton, Felicity Morley and Vanessa Meredith. The Young Citizen of the Year Award went to a most deserving Andrew Beard. To hear Andrew's story is to hear something amazing. He was a young boy left parentless, bringing up his siblings on his own. He continued to go to university and continued to raise the family and keep the family unit together. It is an absolutely amazing story and he was very well deserving of the award. The Citizen of the Year Award went to Janet Hawkins, who is also an amazing person with her time and commitments and what she does for everyone. The Community Event of the Year went to the Gisborne Olde Time Market. It is a great fixture to come and see in the Gisborne community. There are lots of laughs, lots of fun and lots of things that you take your wife to where she empties out your pockets as she fills up with stuff and brings it home. It is a fantastic place.

I also attended another citizenship ceremony in South Morang. South Morang is a growing community that is diverse in multiculturalism. I am continually amazed that, despite the growth and new people moving in, it has retained its character and charm. Australia Day is a day on which we can all be proud of who we are. We spend it with friends and family, preparing for the year ahead. As always, Australia Day in McEwen emulates that spirit. I thoroughly enjoyed it, as I always do, and the many community events in my area that I get the pleasure to attend.