Grievance Debate

Mitchell Electorate Community Awards

Mr WINGARD (Mitchell) (15:06): I rise today to speak about a community awards presentation I held at Patritti Wines in Dover Gardens recently. More than 100 people attended to celebrate some outstanding people in our local area. Meeting with people in the electorate, I am always hearing about people doing fabulous things for others and people who are generally doing great things for our local area. It is often the small things that make the biggest difference in a community, and I want these people to be acknowledged.

Through my newsletter, local schools and community organisations I asked for nominations to identify those who just quietly go about helping others and contributing to the local area but who are not often recognised. I had such a terrific response, and as such I acknowledge and celebrate five award recipients.

I also want to say a big thank you to Ines Patritti from Patritti Wines in Dover Gardens, who helped put on the event; Total Tools, Lonsdale, who supported it; the Warradale Hotel; Zorich Sports/Sports Power at Glenelg; and the SA Aquatic Centre. My wife, family and friends also helped support the night with some food. It was a great environment in which to acknowledge these fantastic people. Also, thanks go to Seaview High School's school captains, Jake Beaumont and Rachael Jaala Rattus, who attended. Rachael sang and her brother played keyboard, and they were absolutely outstanding and also helped to raise some funds for Operation Flinders, the Seaview chapter.

It was a brilliant night, and the first person we acknowledged was a gentleman by the name of Jarrod Lamshed. He is a passionate and dedicated teacher at Woodend Primary School. He initiated a fantastic program with the year 6s and 7s to prevent future domestic violence by breaking down stereotypes and discussing what masculinity and respect really mean. He used a very innovative approach for the discussion, using Twitter and the hashtag #westandtall. Students posted a photo of themselves with their own comments about masculinity, respect and stereotypes.

I encourage everyone to search for #westandtall to see the photos and comments Jarrod and his students put out there for the world to see. The maturity of the students' comments is a credit to Jarrod and the way he went about running this program. I have seen a number of these students in our community throughout time, and the great respect they show to me is again a credit to the way he ran this program. They are highly respectful and a wonderful addition to our community. Jarrod's family was also there, and they were very proud of his award. I would like to congratulate Jarrod Lamshed on being one of our community award winners.

The second award winner was a young lad by the name of Kane Marshall, who was this year named Reynella Cricket Club's Junior Player of the Year for 2015-16. His dad, Kym, and mum, Sandra, were also there. Kane has also been heavily involved for a number of years as a player with the Reynella Football Club, the Wineflies, but this year he joined up with the Southern Football League to be a boundary umpire for 2016 season, trying to keep his fitness up so that he can continue with his cricket.

I also saw him heavily involved with the All Abilities Cricket as an assistant coach at the Reynella Cricket Club. He was always there helping out kids a little less fortunate, making sure they had a smile on their face and they were enjoying playing the game of cricket. Kane has a true passion for cricket and loves to share it with his community, and I acknowledge him for that. He was also recognised as a student leader when he attended Woodend Primary School, and now at Reynella East High School he is an active member of their Aboriginal support group, another great accolade for this young man. He is a wonderful role model to his peers and has shown what can be achieved if you work hard and set your eyes on a dream. Congratulations to Kane.

Jourdan Fairbank was our third award winner. Jourdan has had an amazing career working with vulnerable animals in our community. She runs a charity called Be the Change Animal Shelter in Reynella to look after animals in need and to find new adoptive parents for them. She worked tirelessly during the recent bushfire crisis, taking care of pets and animals that had been affected. The charity is a 100 per cent not-for-profit organisation that relies on donations from the public. She works hard to house animals in need and gives selflessly to care for vulnerable animals. Her husband, Danny, was also in attendance; they have three children and have a very busy life. It is a brilliant example of what people do to give back to the local community, and I commend Jourdan.