Filipino Settlement Coordinating Council of South Australia

The Hon. J.S. LEE (16:00): It is with great pleasure that I rise today to speak about the Filipino Settlement Coordinating Council of SA 120^th Philippines Independence Day celebration on 9 June 2018 and also to highlight the 2018 South Australian Filipino Achievers Awards. Australia and the Philippines have a long history of bilateral cooperation. In 2016, Australia and the Philippines celebrated 70 years of bilateral relations. Growing people-to-people links is encouraged through trade, investment, cultural exchange, education, tourism and migration.

I would like to congratulate the Filipino Settlement Coordinating Council of South Australia for playing a significant role in serving the community. It was certainly a great honour to represent the Premier, the Hon. Steven Marshall, at the 120^th Independence Day celebration. Other distinguished guests on the night included the new Honorary Consul to the Philippines in South Australia Mr Darryl Johnson, the Mayor of Salisbury Mrs Gillian Aldridge, and also councillor Carol Martin.

Congratulations to the council for putting together an awards program that recognises outstanding individuals from the Filipino community for their achievements and contribution to the community. There are so many incredibly hardworking people who have contributed to the success of the council over the years. I would like to place my special thanks on the record and to praise the founding member and inaugural chair of the FSCCSA, the wonderful Aida Garcia, the current chairperson, Mr Ben Hur Winter, and Mrs Cholly Winter, together with everyone on the past and current committee for their hard work and contributions.

This year, the Filipino community of South Australia have much to celebrate. Award nominations were judged by an independent panel of judges across six categories. These award winners with proud Filipino heritage demonstrated the resilience, hard work and commitment to outstanding community services. I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations to all the SA Filipino Achiever Awards winners and provide a brief outline of each winner.

In the category of career achievement award, the winner was the wonderful Ms Carmen Garcia, the Managing Director of Community Corporate. I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Carmen for many years. She is certainly a high achiever and was recently awarded the state contribution award as part of InDaily'sinaugural 40under40 awards. Her company was also recognised in the 2017 Governor's Multicultural Awards for outstanding economic development through her work with refugee and migrant communities.

In the category of sports, the winner was the 21-year-old world-class Adelaide gymnast Christopher Remkes. From humble beginnings, Christopher works hard to represent Australia on the world stage. He made us proud when he won gold at this year's Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. In the arts achiever category, the artistic and multitalented Valerie Berry was the award winner. Valerie is a professional actor and theatre educator who has worked successfully in Australia and the Philippines.

In the community achiever category, the very fabulous Joy Goodridge was the deserving winner. She is a passionate community worker and has volunteered for the Murraylands Filipino Australian Association for 15 years. In the young achiever category, Leonarda Spee was the winner. She is a wonderful young lady who has been recognised for her volunteer work as well as academic excellence and who has received the outstanding academic achievement award three years in a row at the University of Adelaide.

In the senior achiever category the winner was the most vivacious and energetic Luz Pore Shields, who is a tireless community volunteer who advocates positive ageing, helping the senior Filipinos to remain active, while promoting Filipino culture through dancing and singing. Believe me, Luz can really dance and she has the energy and flexibility of a 20 year old, even though she won the senior achiever award category.

The judges had difficulty picking the overall State Achiever of the Year 2018 because of their remarkable achievements, therefore both Carmen Garcia and Christopher Ramkes became the joint winners as the overall State Achiever of the Year 2018. Well deserved.

I would also like to acknowledge two high commendation recipients, namely Teresita Sarmiento and Gabriel Olaer for their excellent efforts. Congratulations once again to the Filipino Settlement Coordinating Council of South Australia for hosting another successful Independence Day celebration and awards evening.