Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of this parliament, I would like to congratulate Faten El Dana of Mount Pritchard on receiving the Medal of the Order of Australia as part of the Queen's Birthday Honours List this year. The Medal of the Order of Australia is a traditional and highly significant way of honouring those in our society who provide outstanding and invaluable service to their local communities. Faten is one of those Australians whose service has indeed been worthy of particular recognition and praise. She was nominated by her fellow citizens for her hard work, dedication and exceptional service, particularly to the local Lebanese community. The Lebanese community makes up a significant portion of my electorate, with over 2,100 residents being born in Lebanon and another 4,500 having one or both parents born in Lebanon. For the past 17 years, Faten has dedicated her time to assist newly arrived migrants, particularly those coming from her country, Lebanon, to successfully settle here in Australia.

In addition to raising four children, she has been a volunteer at a number of charitable organisations, focusing primarily on encouraging young migrant women to gain an education and contribute in their local community. Faten is a strong and positive voice for the Arabic-speaking community of the south-west of Sydney. She currently serves as head of the Arabic department at Al Amannah College in Liverpool and is participating in the 2012 Muslim-Australian reference group designed to encourage constructive dialogue throughout our diverse community. In the past, Faten has used her role as a presenter on 2MFM Muslim radio to reach out to the community that she represents. Her own experience as a migrant coming to this country in 1989 and the challenge that she faced in settling into her new country have provided inspiration to others facing this difficult transition. People coming to Australia need the support and guidance of those who know our legal and social systems in particular. As a consequence, Faten has been a tremendous source of support and knowledge to a number of newly arrived migrants as they settle in their new homeland, Australia. On behalf of a very grateful community, I would like to thank Faten for the invaluable contribution that she has made to her community and congratulate her on being awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia.