Page 1402 - Week 05 - Thursday, 18 June 2020
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such outstanding contributions to Australian society. Like me, these are people who have chosen Australia as their home, and it is great to see them embrace and serve this community with such enthusiasm.
Receiving an Order of Australia Medal is no small feat, and we are lucky to have such noble individuals calling Australia home. Such prestigious recognition of the hard work of immigrants and other multicultural Australians is a credit to our community. I am proud to live in a city, a country, that values the contributions of multicultural Australians. The diversity of Canberra is something of which we should all be proud, and I am glad that these contributions are being recognised.
I would like to acknowledge all of the 39 recipients but that is not possible in this short time. I do acknowledge Lakshman Prasad Alluri, or Lucky, who I am lucky to call a friend. Lucky arrived in Australia in 1993 and immediately began working hard to be of service to his community, volunteering and fundraising for a multitude of events and causes.
Lucky has been involved with and founded several organisations with the aim of connecting Indian Australians both to each other and to the broader Canberra community. I had the privilege of working with him on the Canberra India Council, which is celebrating its 12th anniversary this year.
Most recently, Lucky brought together Marie Ball Associates, Vishnu Shiva Mandir Mawson, Canberra India Council, and Canberra Telugu Vani to provide groceries and other supplies to Canberrans during the height of the coronavirus lockdown, delivering packages to 58 people every week. Lucky is a credit to this country and his community, and I hope that he will continue his tireless work to make Canberra a better place.
In conclusion, to become the recipient of an Order of Australia Medal requires hard work and dedication, but, more than anything, it requires self-sacrifice. The COVID crisis has taught us many things, but one of the most valuable lessons we can take from this is the importance of generosity and community service.
Ms Emily Deidre Kelly Capt RAANC (Retired)—tribute
MS LAWDER (Brindabella) (6.39): I rise today to pay tribute to Captain Emily Deidre Kelly RAANC (Retired). Emily Deidre Kelly, nee Coy, was born in Sydney on 13 January 1941 and passed away in Canberra on 1 March 2020 at the Pines Living aged-care facility in Farrer, ACT. Deidre, as she was known, grew up in Manly with sisters Dianne, Jan and Beverley and her brother, Denis, and, while times were tough, they were always a tight group that looked out for each other.
That same caring spirit led Deidre into nursing training at the then Manly District Hospital, from where she graduated in 1962. Reports are that she was exceptional at her work. A next-door neighbour in Canberra many years later had been a former patient at Manly hospital at that time and remembered her and agreed what a great nurse she was.
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