Stuart Electorate Australia Day Award Recipients

The Hon. G.G. BROCK (Stuart) (15:19): I would like to continue my grieve on the Australia Day award winners from the last session of parliament. The Northern Areas Council Young Citizen of the Year was Jake Slade. Jake arrived in Jamestown in 2021 to began his teaching career and he quickly became involved in the local community. Jake is passionate about physical activity and wellness through sport and recreation and he devotes many hours promoting this, as well as volunteering his time for a range of outdoor activities.

The Active Citizen of the Year was Roger Hunt. Roger's tireless efforts have long been recognised and appreciated by the community of Stone Hut. He was instrumental in bringing the food and wine festival to fruition and has been a longstanding volunteer for the local development committee. Roger has been part of the Mount Remarkable National Park group for 27 years and has done a lot of work with the trail and local attraction maintenance.

The Event of the Year was the Caltowie Chilled Out 'n' Fired Up Music Festival. The festival has been running since 2019 and is a unique and growing event located in the small regional township of Caltowie. The festival has garnered acclaim and was a finalist in the 2023 SA Music Awards for Best Major Festival or Event. It is a permanent fixture on the music festival calendar and brings people together from far and wide.

The District Council of Orroroo Carrieton Citizen of the Year was John Mannion. John has contributed to the community for many years and is a well-known historian. He is dedicated to preserving and sharing local history and has created a priceless legacy for future generations. John campaigned tirelessly to safeguard historic sites and buildings. He collaborated on the 60^th anniversary book of Carrieton and co-authored No Place Like Pekina. His work ensures that local heritage will endure.

The Community Event of the Year was the 54 31 Collective Rural Women's Day. This event was the largest Rural Women's Day celebration in Australia. The vision and effort of 54 31 Collective created a vibrant celebration that not only brought the community together but also showcased the resilience and achievements of rural women.

The District Council of Peterborough Citizen of the Year was Colleen Grove-Jones. Colleen works tirelessly to support members of the community who need help and also does community work further afield. Colleen is a long-serving member of the Rotary Club of Peterborough and is an active member of the Peterborough Community Enterprises group. Colleen brings warmth to many via a winter blanket appeal. She feeds people in need with her Christmas hampers and plays Secret Santa to deliver the hampers within the community.

The Active Citizen of the Year was Janet Fielding. Janet was the pool supervisor and lifeguard on a 40° day at a packed swimming pool when she was alerted to a drowning child. Janet pulled the nine-year-old boy from the pool and provided life-saving intervention. She kept this up until the child was taken to the Peterborough hospital and then evacuated by helicopter to Adelaide. The child is now back in the community with his family, none the worse for his experience.

The Community Event of the Year was the Peterborough Basketball Association Tri-Series. The Peterborough Basketball Association has worked extremely hard to put Peterborough on the basketball map by creating and organising a tri-series of basketball matches between Burra, Clare and Peterborough over the last two seasons. The team has sought sponsorship, canvassed the neighbouring towns, created interest and put together a very successful series.

The Port Germein Community Australia Day Award went to Graham Pole. Graham has dedicated 43 years of service as an office bearer on the Port Germein District Hall Committee and 50 years of service with the CFS brigade, including part-time as lieutenant. Graham's commitment to keeping the community safe and supporting local projects has been nothing short of extraordinary.

Mark Syrus was awarded an Australian Police Medal. Mark is the superintendent of the Yorke and Mid North Local Service Area and was awarded with an Australian Police Medal as part of the Australia Day 2025 awards. He is deeply committed to his staff, fostering a people-first culture that has earned him a stellar reputation over the course of his remarkable 43-year operational career. The award is on top of receiving a South Australia Police Officer of the Year in 2022 for his 28-year involvement with Operation Flinders. Mark represents SAPOL extremely well across all of his areas of command.

I want to say in closing that there are hundreds of people across all of my region and regional South Australia who do great things for their regions and their communities. They do not look for any accolades, as I have mentioned before; they just want to do the job for their communities. In the Australia Day awards, it was great to see Neale Daniher named Australian of the Year for his great achievement for MND.