Grievance Debate

Australia Day Awards

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (17:53): Today, I would like to inform the house of the local Australia Day celebrations held in Gawler and the associated award ceremonies not only in Gawler but also in adjacent councils, Light Regional Council and the City of Playford. The Gawler event is run by the Apex Club of Gawler with assistance from a whole range of other service clubs, including the Gawler Town Band and the St John volunteers. Sadly, this year's Australia Day celebrations were held against the backdrop of horrific fires across our nation. It is not the first, nor will it be the last, adverse circumstance that our nation will find itself in.

As in previous crises that we have faced as a nation, we have responded by coming together and helping each other out—in other words, pitching in any way we can. Our response to the crisis also reflects our values as a nation. Some of the key values we have as a nation include that we believe in a fair go for all, we are as a nation quite modest in our achievements and, also, we look out for each other and our neighbours, which was mentioned earlier today in the speeches during the motion on bushfires.

In this regard, I would like to particularly acknowledge the volunteers in our community who uphold these values. Our volunteers can be seen in almost every walk of life. In fact, there is not one walk of life in our communities that volunteers are not involved in in some way making a contribution. Our society and communities would be poorer if we did not have them.

Before I mention the Australia Day award winners in my local area, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the service of all volunteers and paid staff who have worked very hard to attack the fires that have ravaged our state and nation. I would also like to thank all the volunteers from the service clubs and, as I mentioned, the Gawler Town Band and St John's Ambulance volunteers, who make the Apex Club Australia Day breakfast and award ceremony possible.

The award winners I am about to mention I believe reflect the Australian values I mentioned earlier. This year, the Town of Gawler had joint Citizens of the Year. The first joint winner was Pat Suridge. Pat has been either the president or treasurer of the Gawler chapter of the Australian Red Cross for the past 30 years. Pat also sews curtains and blankets for families escaping domestic violence and living in respite homes. Pat's commitment to the Red Cross began with her mother, who was a Red Cross supporter at Clare.

The other joint winner was Trevor Lucas. Trevor has lived in Willaston all his life and is a committed supporter and volunteer at the Willaston Football Club. Although his playing days are numbered, he has been a volunteer and a board member since the 1970s. Currently, he helps run the downstairs bar at the Donnybrooks' home games and helps with the club's young leadership team.

Our Young Citizen of the Year reflects, I believe, what I mentioned in terms of our modest achievers. Nathan Stafford, a local Trinity student, was named Young Citizen of the Year for his achievements in the entertainment industry as a singer, dancer and actor. Already, Nathan has travelled to the United States, where he competed against 6,500 participants from across the world. He also won the South Australian Youth Choreographic Award at the SA Dance Festival for his routines and performance.

The Community Event of the Year was awarded to the Gawler Christmas carols concert, run by the Gawler Apex Club for the second year. It has been recognised as the top community group event this year. Community Group of the Year was awarded to two groups: the Gawler Community Retirement Homes and the Gawler Domestic Violence Network, recognising their outstanding community service.

The not-for-profit Gawler Community Retirement Homes commenced as a combination of service groups, council and interested individuals and has been providing aged-care accommodation for local residents for the past 50 years. The Gawler Domestic Violence Network is also a combination of service groups, organisations and interested individuals, providing education and information to raise awareness of the impact of domestic and family violence in our community. I would also like to mention the Corporate Citizen of the Year, which is Gawler's well-known Forgie family, awarded for their work for the community over the past 164 years.

While we celebrate Australia Day, we should also acknowledge and not forget what the day means to our First Nations people.