Australia Day

Worthy citizens recognised at awards

AFORMIDABLE line-up of worthy citizens and workers were recognised in this year’s Parramatta Council Australia Day Local Awards.

The awards ceremony, held at Rosehill Gardens on Thursday, January 21, saw the following recognised.

Junior Citizen of the Year – Antonio Rajaratnam

In 2020, Antonio was an HSC student at Redeemer Baptist School. While studying, he participated in a number of his school’s Drama Club productions, helped build a community shelter for local Aboriginal families and young people in Kempsey, and continued to serve his local parish. Recently, Antonio was awarded the 2020 Young Scientist of the Year Award by the Science Teachers Association of NSW, recognising his research into the Sand Fairy cicada. Antonio rediscovered this rare, threatened species in Sydney for the fi rst time in 100 years and became the fi rst person to document a number of its behaviours.

Young Adult Citizen of the Year – Elise Kellett

Elise makes a valuable contribution to our local community through volunteer roles with Meals on Wheels and the Starlight Foundation, as well as through her work as a youth outreach and inclusion coordinator at the Y NSW. Elise leads local youth programs, including outreach for young people dealing with homelessness, mental health issues or those who have come to the attention of the police. Elise’s passion for and involvement in a variety of programs enables her to empower, inspire and support young people, contributing to a safe and inclusive environment regardless of sexuality, gender and expression. This leads to skill development, leadership and active participation in our community and brings long-term benefi ts to the individuals involved and our community as a whole.

Adult Citizen of the Year – Ian Carter

Major Ian Carter is a passionate advocate for suicide prevention and mental health support for our local community. In addition to a number of other activities, Ian shares his experiences and actively contributes to the development of initiatives that aim to reduce the stigma around mental health and improve treatment and awareness. Ian, a Major in the Australian Army, has been awarded the Commendation for Brave Conduct and has presented the ADF Long Tan Youth and Leadership Award at more than 30 local schools. Following the COVID-19 restrictions, Ian adapted and overcame to deliver four back-to-back presentations for ADF Offi cer Cadets, demonstrating resilience and tenacity to the future leaders and defenders of our nation.

Senior Citizen of the Year – Heather Gillam

Heather is the coordinator of the Epping Branch of the War Widows Guild of Australia and has been an affi liate member of Epping RSL sub-Branch for a number of years. At age 93, Heather makes weekly visits to members of the veteran community in Epping and beyond, often by public transport, to check on their wellbeing. Heather is also active in the welfare programs of the sub-Branch, and enthusiastically participates in Commemorative Services throughout the year and is said to truly epitomise the ideals comprised in the spirit of ANZAC – service above self.

Community Group Award – Meals Plus

For more than 45 years, Meals Plus has been a valuable and inclusive service for those in Parramatta who are vulnerable or disadvantaged. Operating with three full-time staff and a group of volunteers, Meals Plus provides a number of services, including more than 46,000 meals last fi nancial year, as well as essential items, welfare service referrals, and laundry and shower facilities. During the pandemic, Meals Plus adapted with takeaway and delivered meals, along with a telephone welfare service.

Humanity Award – Diane Lear

Diane has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years. In addition to her position as clinical nurse consultant neurosciences at Westmead Hospital and numerous representative roles, Diane has voluntarily dedicated her spare time to assisting patients with counselling and welfare services. Diane is the co-founder and facilitator of Neuro Oncology Information Network (NOgIN), which provides education and support for patients and their families to help reduce the physical and emotional impact associated with the diagnosis of brain cancer and improve quality of life. Diane’s dedication to this important initiative demonstrates her passion for caring for others in the community.

Community Service Award – Paul Moussa

Paul is the coordinator of Parramatta Mission’s Meals Plus program and regularly goes above and beyond to ensure everyone in the community is cared for with dignity and respect. Among other supporting activities, Paul connects our local community to a number of services, meals and facilities at all hours of the day and night. At the beginning of the pandemic, Paul worked quickly to ensure necessary procedures were in place, converting sit-down meals to takeaway, and ensuring that more than 150 people each day continued to access what they required. Paul also provides great support and leadership to the program’s volunteers, encouraging them in their service.

Leadership Award – Westmead Hospital Covid-19 Clinic Team

Since January 2020, the Westmead Hospital Clinic Team’s commitment to our community has meant that hundreds of thousands of patients have been, and continue to be, tested and assessed quickly and safely during the global pandemic. Westmead Hospital has been at the forefront of screening patients and, although presented with a new disease, the staff at Westmead demonstrated vision and leadership to quickly create a new service to manage COVID-19 using well-exercised principals of infection control and prevention. The team has gone out of their way to ensure all visitors are treated with care and dignity with minimum distress and discomfort. “Through the darkness of 2020, there were plenty of bright stars – and it is with great honour that we celebrate those people and their commitment to making our community a better place,” City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Bob Dwyer said.

This year's worthy winners.

Mayor supports Invasion Day referendum

CUMBERLAND Lord Mayor Steve Christou says he will support a referendum coinciding with a Federal election to formally decide whether Australia Day held every January 26 should be changed and called Invasion Day.

Mr Christou made the comments as he praised the success of the COVID-Safe Australia Day celebration and citizenship ceremony held at his council area of 240,000 people recently listing its suburbs of Berala and Auburn among coronavirus hotspots.

“We have to see what the majority of Australians say if they wished to change the date put in a referendum in the next Federal election”, Mr Christou told Parramatta Times as he joined the Australia Day evening celebration at Holroyd Gardens streamed live online as a COVID-Safe approach for large-crowd events.

“Only the Federal government can push for this change. Until then, I say to those who want to change the date to stop being a nuisance, do something constructive and organise a referendum.”

Mr Christou said he believed “only a minority number of people are crying to change the date” because Australia as a nation has always been united on the issue of keeping the date remain on January 26.

Asked on his personal stand on the issue, Mr Christou said: “It’s no secret where I stand on that, I believe we should keep the date. We are an inclusive country; we are a diverse country.”

He said his Greek-Cypriot parents and siblings also “support keeping the date” like the many Australians who prefer to keep the way it is since the national day of celebration was agreed upon by the states and territories in 1988.

The debate whether Australia Day’s date should be changed and named Invasion Day has attracted crowds of protesters across Australia on Tuesday.

And while some Western Sydney councils opted for online celebration, Cumberland Council brought in its 40 new Australian citizens and their families at the Granville Centre to pledge their oath of allegiance in person as a sign of respect to a day of national signifi cance in Australia.

The $25M newly-built multi-purpose centre on Memorial Drive has a capacity for more than 200 persons, and had enough space to implement a 1.5 metre physical distancing for people attending, Mr Christou said.

“I believe holding the ceremony is meaningful, and its more meaningful when people come to recite their oath in person. Having the ceremony online devalues the meaning of Australian citizenship and the whole process.”

Mr Christou said overall Australia Day at Cumberland has been “a fantastic COVID-Safe day” describing the citizenship ceremony in the morning and the entertainment segment at Holroyd Gardens in the evening attended by a few hundreds of locals went through without glitches.

“The crowd behaved appropriately [obliging] to sit down where they are asked to do so. It’s absolutely fantastic and it’s a testament what can be achieved when councils put on a performance for their citizens instead of taking the easy way out.

New citizens revel at bright opportunities in Western Sydney

Like many residents in Cumberland, Macquarie Hospital nurse Rushil Vyas and his wife Divya, an administration offi cer at Westmead Hospital, and their eight-yearold son Dhanus, in primary school, couldn’t wait for the day they would offi cially become Australians.

On Tuesday’s Australia Day, the family fi nally received their citizenship certifi cates and felt “very fortunate” to be among the 12,000 new Australians who came from all corners of the globe.

Originally from India, the family resided in Greystanes to fi nd employment opportunities that came not so long after arriving in Sydney. “Before we came, we were anxious and had mixed feelings but after seeing so many opportunities, we are among the very fortunate,” said Divya, 35.

Cumberland Mayor, Steve Christou. The Vyas family: Rushil, Divya and Dhanus