Australia Day 2011

The large crowd gathered at Government House Wednesday afternoon warmly applauded the announcement by His Honour the Administrator, Mr Owen Walsh, that two long term Island residents had been made Members of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours list. They are Ms Marie Bailey for her service to tourism and hospitality and to the community of Norfolk Island over many years; and to Mr Bill Blucher for his service to the community and to politics, particularly through the Legislative Assembly of Norfolk Island.

The following community members and organisations also received recognition and awards

· Allan Tavener - Citizen of the Year 2011

· Mark Kalsrap –Junior Sports Award 2011.

The Administrator’s Award of Certificates of Appreciation 2011 went to –

· Jennifer Perrino; David McCowan and Barbara Shelley, being members of the Norfolk Island Counselling Service;

· The Emergency Management Team; and

· The Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology – Norfolk Island.

I know I speak on behalf of all of my colleagues and the staff at the Legislative Assembly in extending hearty congratulations to you all for your well deserved recognition

2011 is also the year for recognition of women and the meaningful role they play globally. For example -

International Women’s Day

This year marks the centenary of International Women’s Day which is traditionally celebrated on the 8^th of March. The Theme for 2011 is “Equal Access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women” and I thought the following passage from the United Nations website about the International Women’s Day worth sharing.

“Why dedicate a day exclusively to the celebration of the world’s women? In adopting its resolution on the observance of Women’s Day, the General Assembly cited two reasons: to recognise the fact that securing peace and social progress and the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms require the active participation, equality and development of women; and to acknowledge the contribution of women to the strengthening of international peace and security. For the women of the world, the Day’s symbolism has a wide meaning: it is an occasion to review how far they have come in their struggle for equality, peace and development. It is also an opportunity to unite, network and mobilize for meaningful change.” (http://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/iwd)

Commonwealth Day 2011

Less than one week after the celebration of International Women’s Day this year Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth will release her Commonwealth Day Message for 2011. Her Majesty has chosen the theme “Women as Agents for Change”. You can find detail in recent issues of Your Parliament Your Voice of plans in place to commemorate Commonwealth Day on Norfolk Island this year.

Issued from the Office of the Speaker on 28 January 2011