Tweed Valley Weekly Locals Supporting Locals
Two Tweed Shire residents make Queen’s Birthday Honours List
You Have a Friend director John Lee (OAM) has dedicated much of his life to helping others
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The investiture ceremony will take place at Government House Sydney in September/ October. The stories of Mr Lee’s encounters with homeless people are heartbreaking, with many forced to sleep in their cars, or in one case an elderly woman was found sleeping in a drain at Tweed Heads. Speaking with The Weekly, Mr Lee said he felt honoured to receive the OAM, and he hopes the recognition will draw attention to the plight of so many sleeping rough on the North Coast. “The situation for many homeless people is even more dire than when I originally started the charity,” he said. “It is a terrible situation for many local residents of the Tweed Shire and more needs to be done to address the housing crisis. “The situation has gone from bad to worse, with the housing boom forcing many people to sleep in their cars, or on the streets.” Mr Lee said he recently assisted an elderly woman who had lived in a Murwillumbah rental for the past 21 years, but lost the property due to a price increase. “The rental prices have skyrocketed and it’s forcing some of our most vulnerable out on the streets, or sleeping in their cars,” he said. “This one elderly lady was forced to leave her rental in Murwillumbah due to price increase, which she could not afford, despite being there for more than two decades. “Something needs to change to aid those most vulnerable in our community, who are taking a backseat to profits and this so-called housing boom.”
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Dominic Richards OAM
Cabarita Beach’s Dominic Richards has received an OAM for his service to architecture and the community. Mr Richards has helped a range of organisations related to architecture, education and the LGBT community. Australian-raised and Cambridge educated, his work in urban design and on the impact of the built environment include co-founding Our Place in London to develop “sustainable communities and walkable neighbourhoods that are deeply rooted in their locality.” Mr Richards is a Director of Architekton, which delivers sustainable urban development projects. He is the Chairman and Co-Founder of Chinese digital education initiative Prosper Education in Sydney and the co-founder and Chair of Royal ABC, the world’s leading earlylearning programme. He was the Deputy Chair of the Prince’s Trust Australia and Trustee and Design Director of the Prince’s Foundation for Building Community. Mr Richards is the Former Chairman of LGBT London, the co-founder of Queercompany and of The English Teddy Bear Company (UK).
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By Jonathon Howard YOU HAVE a Friend director John Lee said he felt honoured to receive a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) on the Queen’s Birthday Honours List for his many years of service to those in need. He’s also highlighted the need to help those most vulnerable in the community, especially as a record housing crisis grips the Tweed. In 2008, Mr Lee registered the charity ‘You Have A Friend Inc’ with the goal of helping those who need it most. “It is a charity in its purest form, meaning that it is 100 per cent not for profit and we are all volunteers donating our time to support those in need,” he said. Mr Lee’s service has been previously recognised with the Tweed Shire Volunteer of the Year Award (2011), The Pride of Australia Medal (2012), and he was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International (2010). Mr Lee is a Lifeline accredited telephone counsellor and following six years of part-time study, in 2015 he graduated with a Bachelor of Social Science majoring in Community Studies, Social Welfare. Apart from providing material support, Mr Lee’s endless advocacy protects homeless from both legal and social challenges that invoke human rights issues, and, even in the face of adversity, his principles of legal justice and social justice have never wavered. The OAM recognises and acknowledges Mr Lee’s compassion, dedication and unconditional love to those less fortunate, and the honour bestowed upon him is truly deserved.
Local News 11
Thursday, June 17, 2021
$17m for Crown Lands
Geoff PROVEST MP
tweed@parliament.nsw.gov.au Tel: 07 5523 4816 Authorised by Geoff Provest. Funded using parliamentary entitlements.
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Tweed community groups that use Crown Land are invited to apply for a share of $17 million in grants available from the Nationals in NSW Government to upgrade and maintain reserves and community facilities on Crown Land. Applications under the Crown Reserves Improvement Fund are open until 25 June 2021. reservemanager.crownland.nsw.gov.au
