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Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2016-06-21 Daily Xml
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Queen's Birthday Honours

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:15): My question is to the Minister for Police. Can the minister update the council about medal recipients for the recent Queen's Birthday Honours?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS (Minister for Police, Minister for Correctional Services, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Road Safety) (15:15): I would like to thank the honourable member for his important question. As members are no doubt aware, we recently had a public holiday for the Queen's Birthday.

An honourable member: Is that what it was for?

The Hon. P. MALINAUSKAS: Yes, indeed. That day is about much more than just an opportunity for many to enjoy a well-earned long weekend. It is also an occasion for us to acknowledge the many others who make a contribution, including many of the state's outstanding volunteers, as the state government has also proclaimed the long weekend, or that particular day, as Volunteers Day, in recognition of the enormous effort and service made by volunteers across our state.

I have been very grateful for the opportunity to meet many people, since becoming minister, who volunteer within our community. The spirit of community service in our state is so strong that I believe it is fitting that a number of South Australians in the field have been recognised for their outstanding service, with awards just recently on the Queen's Birthday weekend.

It gives me great pleasure to firstly speak about the Australian Police Medal winners for distinguished service. One such worthy winner was Senior Sergeant Kelly Clarke. Senior Sergeant Clarke was nominated for the Australian Police Medal, not only for her distinguished service to SAPOL but in particular as a major crash investigator and her dedication and commitment to the broader road safety portfolio.

Senior Sergeant Clarke's leadership was fundamental during a period of significant change to the major crash investigation section. This section, and the now outstanding reputation of the major crash investigation section, is testament to Senior Sergeant Clarke's guidance, mentoring and the outstanding manner in which she leads her people in a consistently complex and traumatic policing environment.

Superintendent Mark Fairney is another worthy winner of the Australian Police Medal. Superintendent Fairney joined SAPOL in 1980 and was promoted to the rank of inspector in 1999. A few years later he was posted to the Security Intelligence Section, where his leadership and management abilities were critical at a time of global threats. In 2005, he was promoted to superintendent and as the officer-in-charge of the Traffic Support Branch, where he was instrumental in introducing a raft of road safety initiatives aimed at reducing the road toll in South Australia.

When Superintendent Fairney moved to the police security services branch, he was faced with a number of challenges. His positive approach to those challenges resulted in a number of major components of the new protective security officer model finally being implemented, providing significant benefits to the state and national level policy regarding protective security.

Last, but certainly not least, Senior Sergeant Tom Liddy was awarded the Australian Police Medal for his exceptional communication aptitude, his ability to analyse complex legal and policy issues, and his reputation as a highly respected and sought after legal specialist. Senior Sergeant Liddy resolves complex investigational and prosecutorial issues, and plays an important role in maintaining SAPOL's professionalism. He is also recognised for his legal acumen, his attention to detail and his meticulous work ethic. Senior Sergeant Liddy is consistently recognised for not only the quality and expertise of his legal advice but his ability to provide it expeditiously and within a policing context, enabling practical application and resolution for policing.

In addition to the police medal recipients within SAPOL, a South Australian Public Service Medal was also awarded to Dr Anne Rathjen. Dr Rathjen has been employed by South Australia Police for 16 years and is currently the manager of SAPOL's Chemical Diversion and Drug Desk situated in the State Intelligence Branch. In this role Dr Rathjen leads a multidisciplinary team responsible for providing strategic and operational service and advice to SAPOL, along with numerous agencies within the government of South Australia. Dr Rathjen is a highly valued employee of SAPOL and has clearly demonstrated service excellence, innovation in program and policy development, and leadership in a very demanding and challenging field. The South Australian Public Service Medal is recognition of her valuable contribution to the state.

In the emergency services sector one person received the Emergency Services Medal, while two were recognised for their service as recipients of the Australian Fire Service Medal. Mr Tony Sumner was one such recipient of the Emergency Services Medal with an impressive history of service to the Hallett State Emergency Service Unit, with almost 30 years as the unit manager. Mr Sumner has played an instrumental role as a founding member of the unit responding to significant road crash accidents as well as preparing residents for and responding to storms and flood events. He is also a highly skilled trainer who continues to mentor the next generation of emergency services volunteers in the region.

In addition, fire behaviour analyst Mr Ian Tanner from the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources CFS Brigade was a recipient of the Australian Fire Service Medal. Mr Tanner's distinguished service includes playing a critical part in senior incident management roles for numerous bushfire incidents including the Pinery, Bangor and Sampson Flat fires as well as international deployments to both Canada and the United States. His expertise as a fire behaviour analyst has helped to put South Australia at the cutting edge of bushfire spread modelling, and the knowledge he has shared through the development and delivery of training in this area has strengthened our response and resilience to bushfires.

Finally, another recipient of the Australian Fire Service Medal was captain of the SA Water CFS Brigade, Mr Richard Munn. His ongoing commitment to volunteering is thoroughly commendable with more than 20 years' service for a number of brigades across the state. In particular, Mr Munn has specialist experience in coaching other volunteers about forestry firefighting methods. He has organised regional field days, assisted with the construction and fit-out of the Gumeracha base and brigade station and was the main coordinator in the development of the Mount Crawford airstrip.

I congratulate these very worthy winners of the Australian Police Medal, the South Australian Public Service Medal, the Emergency Services Medal and Australian Fire Service Medal and thank them for their continued efforts and dedication to the South Australian community.

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