Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party, Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to acknowledge the Australia Day award recipients from the Kyogle local government area at the recent Australia Day awards. There were three different official functions in the Kyogle LGA. I want to start with Woodenbong, because I had the pleasure to celebrate Australia this year in Woodenbong.

I want to congratulate the Citizen of the Year, George Stein. George currently volunteers for the Northern Rivers Community Transport and has previously held positions on the Woodenbong and District Golf Club and the Woodenbong Progress Association boards. The Business/Service award went to the Woodenbong Driveway, locally owned by Rod and Kim Watson. The service station and workshop are institutions and are much loved in Woodenbong. Woodenbong Driveway faced stiff competition this year.

The Community Organisation/Event award went to the Woodenbong Rural Fire Service, given the recent fires in the area. They were the best example of dedication, effectiveness and great community effort. The Australia Day appreciation awards were received by the Pod Army. The Pod Army were a group of local community residents who had their own utes with water tanks and hoses in the back, and they themselves helped defend the town of Woodenbong from the recent fires. BlazeAid have also been doing wonderful work in bushfire impacted communities around Woodenbong.

At the West of the Range Australia Day ceremony in Bonalbo, the Citizen of the Year award went to Pastor Peter Boughey. Peter has been the town's pastor for 20 years. He works with Indigenous youth a lot in the Toys Change Lives program. Peter is a great guy. Ryan Stubbings and Laura Sudholz were the joint winners of the Young Citizen of the Year award. They came to the aid of an elderly man who collapsed on a footpath in Bonalbo. They're both school captains, and they are terrific young role models. The Community Organisation/Event award went to the Bonalbo Show Society. What a wonderful organisation that is. The Sportsperson of the Year award went to Emily Watson, who represented Australia playing futsal in Brazil last year.

In the award ceremony in Kyogle, Col Griffiths was named the Citizen of the Year. Col is currently serving his third term as the president of the Kyogle Golf Club. He was the inaugural chairman of the Kyogle Seniors' Centre and has been a member of the Kyogle Lions Club since 1990. He has done a great job and is a great community advocate. The Senior Citizen of the Year award went to Fay Little for years of volunteering for many organisations across the Kyogle district. Congratulations, Fay. I know your family are very proud. Zac Clark was named Senior Student of the Year for excellence as an all-round student. Alison Coote was named the Senior Sportsperson of the Year after representing Australia in triathlons and qualifying for the world championships in Hawaii. Congratulations. The Junior Sportsperson of the Year went to Rigby O'Meara, who is a multidiscipline athlete with strong results in swimming, athletics, Rugby League, soccer and basketball. In Kyogle, the special community service awards were presented to all the RFSs in the region, which have done a wonderful job protecting our community. Congratulations to all of them.