As April draws to a close I reflect on two of my favourite days of the year: Anzac Day, and today, when I had the honour of hosting the McPherson Community Achiever Awards.
The Awards recognise locals who go above and beyond to make the southern Gold Coast a beautiful place to live and work – with 75 outstanding people receiving awards this year. I am always inspired when learning their stories and the selfless acts they carry out each and every day.
It was also inspiring to see so many of our service men and women at Anzac Day services across the Gold Coast. I attended the dawn service at Currumbin RSL, the mid-morning service in Burleigh and the sunset service in Mudgeeraba. Thank you to all the local RSLs for the work they do to ensure these services are provided for the community to pay their respects.
The week prior, I joined the Walk4Remembrance to raise awareness of the ‘battle within’ faced by some of our veterans. Following the walk, I helped unveil the Cor Infinitus plaque at Currumbin RSL and met Kevin Humphreys, who is on a mission to curb veteran suicide. You can read more about Cor Infinitus here.
Karen Bird, the mother of veteran Jesse Bird – who took his own life following his return from Afghanistan in 2017 – was also at the unveiling. She has been a strong advocate for a Royal Commission into Veteran Suicide, which has since been announced by the Minister for Veterans Affairs. If you would like to know more, or contribute to the Terms of Reference, please visit the DVA website.
Over the past month I have enjoyed the steep learning curve of understanding the Home Affairs portfolio. One of my first Ministerial engagements was when I joined the Five Country Ministerial Meeting with the US, UK, New Zealand and Canada.
I have also been spending time understanding the many roles of the Australian Federal Police (AFP). They recently worked with the NDIS Fraud Taskforce in a months-long operation, leading to the arrest of six people in relation to an alleged multi-million dollar fraud against the NDIS.
I sat down with the team from the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, who are working hard to protect our precious young ones. Last year, they charged 191 people and removed 89 children from harm.
The AFP are also supported by some super special detection dogs. I loved meeting the team at Gold Coast Airport, where the canines are trained to sniff out hidden items such as technology, firearms and explosives.
I expect another busy month ahead, with the Federal Budget to be delivered on 11 May. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg plans to lay out the next phase of Australia’s economic recovery plan - to grow our economy so we can deliver the jobs and guarantee the essential services Australians rely on, and keep Australians safe.
Take care,
