Adelaide Electorate Award Recipients

Ms HOOD (Adelaide) (15:29): I rise to congratulate the recipients of my three local councils' Citizen of the Year Awards. I had the pleasure of attending the City of Adelaide awards, where a community campaign to save a treasured live music venue, a refugee advocate, a young engineer and a hugely successful multicultural sporting festival were recognised.

Inner-city resident, Mij Tanith, was named the City of Adelaide Citizen of the Year in recognition of her tireless work as part of the Circle of Friends volunteer organisation to support refugees when they first arrive in Australia. Mij has helped so many individuals and families obtain visas, gain permanent residency, and escape from conflict, famine and poverty. Although she has never really been formally recognised, her work is deeply appreciated by the many she has helped and supported. Congratulations Mij.

Young engineer Julian Zheng was named Young Citizen of the Year for his work mentoring other migrants by offering career advice and emotional support, while the Save the Cranker campaign took out the Active Citizenship award for their work spearheading the community campaign to save the 171-year-old Cranker hotel. It was so wonderful to see its members receive this recognition and, indeed, it is an excellent example of what can be achieved when the community, government and private sector work together for a win-win outcome.

Congratulations also to the Australian Sikh Games, which was named the City of Adelaide's Community Event of the Year. This was truly a multicultural event, bringing the broader community together, with 3,500 athletes participating and 100,000 spectators enjoying the competition.

In the City of Prospect, author and co-author David Johnston was awarded Citizen of the Year. His works include historical jottings: a collection of around 150 articles about the local Prospect area. Given David's extensive knowledge of Prospect's history, it makes him one of the key go-to people for historical inquiries in our local Prospect community.

Blackfriars' student Nathan Bishop was named Young Citizen of the Year for Prospect for the way he consistently gives back to the community. Over the last two years, Nathan has organised a team in the Walk for Love event, raising more than $8,700 for the Mary Potter Foundation. In recognition of his efforts, the foundation has honoured him by naming him an official ambassador for the event. Congratulations Nathan.

City of Prospect's Active Citizenship Award went to former Prospect primary school teacher Jenny Rossiter, for her work establishing a Prospect University of the Third Age branch at the Prospect RSL, while the Community Event of the Year went to Churchill Greening. I work very closely with Churchill Greening as it seeks to establish a community garden in the brand-new pocket park that I am delivering for the community on Churchill Road. As part of these efforts, they run a permaculture workshop, along with various working bees, and I look forward to what they achieve in the future when I open the brand-new pocket park later this year.

On Australia Day, I had the pleasure of attending the Town of Walkerville's Backyard BBQ event, which included their Citizen of the Year awards. Congratulations to Citizen of the Year Gregory Brian Crawford AM for his service to medicine—in particular, as a professor of palliative medicine for the University of Adelaide. He has also made significant contributions to the community through musical events as an organ player, and through his involvement with the Adelaide Primary Health Network, local government and the Hospital Research Foundation. He is currently involved in the Walkerville community through the social prescribing project, focusing on connecting the community with health and care solutions. Once the project progresses beyond the pilot stage, it has the potential to be implemented nationally and internationally.

I was so incredibly proud to see a young friend of mine, Indya Dodd, be named Young Citizen of the Year for the Town of Walkerville. I first met Indya when she reached out to me to advocate for increased support for young people experiencing eating disorders, including advocating for the new $12 million Statewide Eating Disorder Service at the Repat, which is proudly being delivered in a collaboration between the Malinauskas and Albanese governments and Breakthrough Mental Health.

Indya is also a dedicated volunteer for St John Ambulance, and through the Ronald McDonald House hospitality cart program has also provided support and companionship to families at the Women's and Children's Hospital. Congratulations Indya, you are an inspiration to so many young women. The Town of Walkerville's Community Event of the Year award went to the Walkerville Energy and Environment Forum, which I had the pleasure of attending and participating in, and the Active Citizenship Award went to Raymond Dohnt for his dedication to the Walkerville Bridge Club.

Congratulations to all of the award recipients. Thank you for what you do to give back to our community. You epitomise what makes our neighbourhoods in the electorate of Adelaide so incredibly special.