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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, Second Session (54-2)
2021-02-18 Daily Xml
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Australia Day Awards

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay) (15:16): I rise today to talk about several constituents within my electorate of Ramsay and the wider City of Salisbury who were recognised during the Salisbury Australia Day Citizen of the Year Awards. The awards recognise and reward individuals and organisations that go above and beyond to make incredible and valuable contributions to our community.

I first want to recognise the Salisbury Citizen of the Year, Frank Wanganeen. To many of us known as Uncle Frank, he has played a significant role in strengthening the relationships between the City of Salisbury and the Kaurna and broader Aboriginal community. He is an educator who has done a tremendous amount to teach people Aboriginal culture and language, particularly young people, to ensure that it is preserved for generations to come.

Frank is also passionate about the environment and will share his knowledge by conducting guided cultural walks along the Mangrove Trail or by giving talks on native plants at the Paralowie community garden. I commend Frank for all that he does for our community and offer my personal congratulations because he is someone who shows his commitment through his efforts in all areas.

I also want to recognise the Young Citizen of the Year, Zahra Bayani. Zahra came to Australia in 2017 speaking no English at all, and in the following four years she has become one of the most active young people in our community. Zahra has contributed to Rotary through their youth leadership programs, Spire coaching as a mentor, St John Ambulance as an event responder, and multiple organisations as an ambassador or board member.

Zahra has a drive to contribute to our community, not for recognition but because she has a strong desire to help others. I have to say that when they read out all the things that Zahra has done in her short life, it put many of us to shame. I look forward to seeing what Zahra will do as she contributes to our community in the future.

Bianca Simeoni won the Active Citizenship award. Bianca is president of the Salisbury International Soccer Club, a club that she has had strong family connections with over the last 50 years. When Bianca started with the club, there were only three senior men's teams made up of about 45 players, using a single pitch at Underdown Park in Salisbury North. There are now 350 players and 20 teams, including women, junior girls and, recently, junior boys. They play on three state-of-the-art pitches and have two large sheds to use.

It is an incredible effort, and Bianca has been key in transforming this club. She is a shining example of active citizenship in this community that helps people of all ages. I would like to acknowledge the other award recipients: Mrs Christine Pike, who received the Senior Citizen of the Year award, and Rachael Zaltron, Nicolette Nedelcev and the Friends of the Pledger Wetlands group, who all received the Mayor's Commendation.

I want to finish by talking about a unique decision regarding the Salisbury Community Achievement award. It is a new award for this year, and it is for a person or group who delivered outstanding work for an event or cause staged in the community during the past year. While there were several nominations, the Salisbury council took the opportunity to give the Salisbury Community Achievement award to the residents of the City of Salisbury. They chose to give it to us to highlight the collective efforts of the whole community coming together and facing the challenges that 2020 presented to all of us, with members of the community rallying around each other to provide assistance, check on volunteers and make sure everyone was doing okay.

It was a surprise to everyone that this was the decision, but I have to say there was an incredible turnout. The member for Florey was there as well and the member for Playford also. There was a really good turnout for the Australia Day awards because people want to get out and support their community. We were prevented from doing so in 2020 for our health, but together we came to be #5108andproud.

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