Lions Clubs

Mr WINGARD (Mitchell) (17:12): I rise today to speak about two wonderful Lions Clubs in my community that are doing great work helping in that area.

The Hon. A. Piccolo: Not as good as Gawler.

Mr WINGARD: The member for Light mentioned his group in Gawler, but I can assure him that these two groups are far better than the Gawler people. I am sure the Gawler people are great, but I know the people in my community would be far better.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! The Chair will decide, on the weight of your contributions, which are the best Lions Clubs. I am listening to the member for Mitchell. I shall adjudicate.

Mr WINGARD: It is great to share some fellowship in the chamber as we talk about the wonderful Lions groups right across the state, but again I still profess mine to be better than everywhere else because of the great people in my community.

The first arm I would like to talk about is the Hallett Cove and Districts Lions Club, which had their 30^th anniversary at Flagstaff Hill in April. The people present did a marvellous job of putting this together. The new club president, Ian Chandler, and Dennis Connor, the immediate past president, and his wife, Cheryl, were both there, along with John Murray, the secretary, and Graham Botting, who does a really fantastic job in this community for Lions. Any time I go to a Lions function, he is working away tirelessly. It was great to see that he received the prestigious Lions Club International President's Medal at the 30^th anniversary dinner, which made it even more special. Mick Allinson also played a very big role in putting together the 30^th anniversary dinner. I would like to commend those people for their efforts. David Thomas, the C2 Lions District Governor, and his wife, Margie, were also there.

For those of you who do not know, Melvin Jones was the initiator in Chicago of the Lions movement, and he did a wonderful job. Next year, Lions Clubs International will celebrate 100 years of service to local communities across the globe. In a world of competing interests, it is quite remarkable to have an organisation that resonates with community members across every continent.

From my own observations of the wonderful work that the Lions clubs do, I believe there are two key elements to the success of Lions Clubs International: firstly, being part of a strong international community provides a unique opportunity to learn, to personally grow and to serve beyond what we know and beyond our own borders. Lions Clubs International conventions bring like-minded people together to share experiences. The international programs successfully address areas including health, youth volunteering, the environment and disaster relief.

Lions Clubs International's work to improve the lives of people who are blind or living with low vision around the world is also significant and has been a focus for the organisation on the international stage ever since Helen Keller addressed the Lions Clubs International convention back in 1925. My second observation is that, through Lions Clubs, there is a real grassroots approach to community service that is truly commendable. In any particular club, members are local residents. The programs are initiated and administered locally, and the community benefits are realised locally.

The Lions Club of Hallett Cove & Districts is no exception, nor is the Lions Club of Marion. The Lions Club of Hallett Cove & Districts provides services and volunteers hours and is a dedicated partner in addressing so many areas of concern in our local community. Through their leadership, friendship and wisdom, our community continues to benefit from Lions club projects including 'Books n Things' garage sales and the very popular annual Cove Fair which my colleague the member for Bright and I are very engaged with and thoroughly enjoy celebrating with our local community. There are also the Youth of the Year awards, carols by candlelight, emergency patient packs for the Flinders Medical Centre and many other community events and initiatives that they bring to our community.

The Lions Club of Hallett Cove & Districts' involvement in the establishment of a permanent war memorial and garden at the Hallett Cove foreshore is a major project of significance to our community. It must be mentioned how wonderful it is and how well that has been embraced by the local community. The large crowds that gather on ANZAC Day are testament to how wonderfully well this club has done to create this for our community. I was lucky enough to speak there on ANZAC Day this year. The feeling that is created in the cove gives you a Gallipoli chill. It is quite sensational.

I mentioned Melvin Jones who was the founder of Lions. He had a personal motto that said: 'You can't get very far until you start doing something for somebody else.' That is an attitude that has been wholeheartedly adopted by the Lions Club of Hallett Cove & Districts over their 30 years of community service, and it is also, I know, adopted by the Lions Club of Marion. As I wrap up my comments on the Lions Club of Hallett Cove & Districts, I would like to give a quote from Flora Arban, who said on social media:

I think the Lions Club of Hallett Cove do a fantastic job. Free Breakfast on the foreshore every Australia Day, organising the Cove Fair, Santa at Xmas driving around with cakes etc—all from volunteers. Thank you everyone involved.

That really does sum up how the people in the community feel about the wonderful work the Lions Clubs do. To say a little bit about the Lions Club of Marion, I went to their handover dinner just the other night. I came racing from a Rotary meeting as well, so I was a little bit late getting there, but it was great to go and catch up with some good friends.

One of the people I got to catch up with there was Bob Korotcoff, who is a great local representative of our community, really is very engaged with everything that is going on and works incredibly hard for the Lions. The new president was Rosemary Peacock, and it is great to have her on board. The first vice president is Graham Turner, and the second vice president is Carol Holt. The secretary is Kel Waters. Bob Korotcoff, who I mentioned, is the Treasurer, and the past president is Bill Jolley. That team works very hard. I know Solomon Wahome also does a great job working within that group.

The Marion Lions group are not large in number, but they do a marvellous job in raising funds and supporting the community. They do a marvellous barbecue at Harvey Norman on Marion Road every second weekend, and they are there tirelessly, cooking sausages and raising funds. They have the Lions Mints, and there are other projects they do around the community. Also present at the handover dinner was past district governor Bob Dewell, and it was great to see him as well.

The Lions Club of Marion ran through their donations for the year. Nearly $15,000 worth of donations have been raised by a very small but highly active team in our community, and I would like to make mention of some of the charities to which they have donated funds. These include: the Daw House Hospice Foundation, $500; the Lions Hearing Dogs Inc., another $500; Foodbank SA, they put $1,000 towards their pop-up kiosk; and Operation Flinders, they joined with me in helping fund a local chapter of Operation Flinders, and I really thank and appreciate them for that support.

They also talked about some of the work that they will do. The amount of money that they have raised is outstanding, and I have mentioned the figure of nearly $15,000 in 12 months. What they have also done is to make me more aware of community groups that need help and support. As an example, they have drawn me into Operation Flinders and also Foodbank SA. That is what the Lions Club do—they make our community aware of what is out there and aware that people who contribute can help and support our local community.

Other charities that they donated to included the Royal Adelaide Hospital Burns Unit, the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Angel Flight Australia, St Vincent de Paul (both at Brighton and Seacombe Gardens), The Salvation Army at Marion, the list goes on. Meals on Wheels was another one that they have looked after. As I said, $15,000 worth of donations is an outstanding effort, and I would really like to congratulate everyone not only for the money they donated but also for the time they invest in putting back and giving back to our community in such a great way that all Lions members do.

The other project I should make people aware of is their plan to plant 10,000 trees in 10 years. They are up to 6,000 trees, and they want to plant another 2,000. So, on 5 August, that is where they are going: Braeside Reserve. This group does a marvellous job. I mention Solomon Wahome as well. He often brings people from his work to come along and help contribute to this project. I commend them for that, and I will get my boots on and come along and help. I went last year to help. I was busy in the morning and I thought I would get there and help in the afternoon, but they were so efficient they got the job done and there was no work left for me to do when I got there. They had packed up and gone to lunch. So, I will get there a bit earlier this year because they do get a great team together.

Again, a big congratulations and thankyou to the Lions Club in my local community. I would still argue with the member for Light that they are far better in my community than they are in his because my community does such a marvellous job. But I know that right across this state all the Lions Clubs do an outstanding job, and I would really like to take this opportunity to again commend the two Lions Clubs in my local area: the Lions Club of Marion and the Lions Club of Hallett Cove & Districts.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: As you know, it is my role to prevent quarrels between members and I have declared the adjournment debates a dead heat this evening.

At 17:23 the house adjourned until Thursday 7 July 2016 at 10:30.