Page 3382 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 19 October 2022
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Helen believes in the power of partnerships. She has worked hard to bring together groups through the umbrella of the council and to bring other local groups together to coordinate efforts and action. She has spearheaded collective efforts on issues such as the Red Hill Nature Reserve and the protection of Bluetts Block; increasing areas of biodiversity protection in the ACT; and the campaign to protect the critically endangered natural temperate grasslands at Lawson north from the DHA housing development, which has resonated across the environmental groups and inspired support amongst artists and the wider community.
I am personally extremely grateful for the leadership role she has taken in co-chairing the Biodiversity Conservation Council. This was a forum that she advocated for as an important addition to advising the government’s work in the area of biodiversity. This has been a very important forum that has assisted us in developing a partnership approach to addressing the issue of biodiversity in the ACT.
Seeing the need for a wider conversation about the ACT's high consumption of resources and the associated impacts on local, national and international environments, Helen was instrumental in bringing people together for the ACT’s first ever Circular Economy Symposium. This was an event to create local discussion about a society that is kinder on the environment, that uses less resources and that is more careful. The council hosted a one-day event in September that brought 200 people together—people from academia, small and large businesses, the community and government. It really was a day of inspiration and energy and one that the council will build on.
As well as being an environmental powerhouse, Helen is also a caring mother, a good daughter and a great friend. As she starts her adventure in Victoria, we want to say thank you, Helen. We wish you the very, very best, and we will miss you very, very much.
Thank Your Cleaner Day
MS BERRY (Ginninderra) (6.27): Today I want to talk about the important work cleaners do across our community. Cleaners are often unseen workers, quietly moving through our city’s buildings while the rest of us have gone home to our families. Cleaners work hard. Their work is physically demanding. It is low paid. It is often insecure, due to the contracting nature of their work. It is often forgotten work. These invisible workers showed us how vital they were to the safety of our community during COVID. More than at any other time, their work became visible. Today is Thank Your Cleaner Day, and today I thank all of our cleaners across the ACT. I want to particularly mention our ACT government school cleaners, as well as the cleaners in this building. Thank you for keeping us all safe and clean.
Ms Helen Oakey—tribute
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong) (6.28): I would like to follow on from where my colleague Minister Vassarotti left off and acknowledge the contribution of Helen Oakey, the outgoing Director of the Conservation Council, to the ACT as she prepares to move to Victoria.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video