House debates

Monday, 22 November 2021

Statements by Members

Herbert Electorate: Resilient Australia Awards

4:17 pm

Photo of Phillip ThompsonPhillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I want to take this opportunity to congratulate two organisations in the Herbert electorate who've been nominated as finalists in the Resilient Australia Awards. These awards celebrate and promote initiatives that build whole-of-community resilience to disasters and emergencies as well as images, capturing resilience in action.

Many in this place would know the devastation that hit Townsville in 2019 in the form of the monsoonal flood event. In the direct aftermath and through the recovery, the Townsville Community Rebuild Project was integral in helping to make a house a home again. This group was made up of representatives from the Salvation Army, Uniting Church, Community Information Centre and many more and worked to help residents repair their flood affected properties to a safe condition so they could move in again. That is why they've been nominated as finalists for the national community awards section. It was a privilege to meet with them last week as they shared some of their stories. They've already been successful at the state level, and we're hoping for a win at the national level too.

Also nominated is Pimlico State High School for a national school award. They did some great work through the COVID-19 pandemic, partnering with charities to distribute computers to students to make sure no-one missed out on online learning. Congratulations to both organisations. Good luck for the awards in December, but in our minds you're already winners.