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Reminder to register - Town Hall this Thursday!

Happy Year of the Rabbit! I hope all have enjoyed the recent warm weather and that your preparations for a return to school and work are going well. 

This coming Thursday, the 2nd of February, I’ll be hosting a Town Hall meeting to report back on the results of our community survey. This is a process that is near and dear to my heart – as an Independent, I’m committed to doing politics differently. This means consulting with our community, listening to what the people of Kooyong tell me is important, and then acting on those issues.

 

This will be an opportunity for you to hear from our community about what matters to them, how I plan to address those issues and how you can play an important role in doing politics differently. Focuses of that will be our action on climate change and to the forthcoming referendum on the Voice To Parliament. If you haven’t filled in the survey yet, you can still do so here. I'd love to hear from you.

 

The Town Hall meeting will be held at the Hawthorn Arts Centre from 6-8:30pm. If you’re interested, please register to attend via the button below:

 

 

It's been a busy January here in Kooyong and I've enjoyed taking the opportunity to meet with community members and constituents. I've attended several Lunar New Year events and will be at the Whitehorse Lunar New Year event today.

 

On Thursday last, I attended a number of community events. I know that 26 January is a complex day for many Australians. I’m proud to be Australian, but I know that for many of us, particularly those from First Nations communities, 26 January is a sad day. I agree with Noel Person, that we are an indissoluble commonwealth of three great parts – our ancient Indigenous heritage, the world’s oldest continuous culture; the British heritage of our democracy and institutions; and the multicultural achievement unifying people and cultures from around the world. I hope we'll look back at 2023 as the year our country took a significant step towards true reconciliation. The referendum for the Voice is our opportunity to do that. This year, I’ll be working hard, alongside the people of Kooyong, to ensure a Voice to Parliament is enshrined in our constitution. We need to move forward together- all of us- to an Australia we can all feel proud of

Lunar New Year community lunch 

Tour at Swinburne University

We-Akon Dilinja, Mourning Reflection hosted by the City of Port Phillip

Boroondara Citizens of the Year ceremony 

City of Whitehorse Young Citizen of the Year 

Visit to Hawthorn RSL

 

 

Special congratulations to the residents of Kooyong who received Australia Day Honours yesterday for their outstanding service to our community.

 

Member of the Order of Australia

  • Emeritus Professor Claude Bernard - For significant service to medical research, and to education.
  • Professor Martin Delatycki - For significant service to medicine, to genetic research, and to education.
  • Her Honour Judge Kate Hawkins - For significant service to the law, and to judicial education.
  • Dr Elaine Ong - For significant service to veterinary medicine, and to animal welfare and rescue.
  • Professor Bruce Thompson - For significant service to respiratory medicine, and to tertiary medical education.
  • The Honourable Emilios Kyrou - For distinguished service to the judiciary and to the law, to professional associations, and to the community.
  • The late Professor George Patton - For distinguished service to psychiatry and developmental epidemiology, to youth health and wellbeing, and to mental health research.
  • Mr David Crow - For service to cricket.
  • Mr Diarmid Davine - For service to the law.
  • Mr Michael Fogarty - For service to veterans and their families.
  • Mr Ronald Frederick - For service to orienteering and rogaining.
  • Mrs Lorenda Gracey - For service to education.
  • Ms Alice Lai - For service to the Chinese community of Victoria.
  • Miss Katherine Leeming - For service to adventure sports.
  • Mr Alexander Ross - For service to the community through a range of organisations.
  • Mrs Tamara Shepherd - For service to the community through charitable organisations.
  • Dr Jane Sullivan - For service to the community through a range of organisations.
  • Mr Alan Thompson - For service to wood turning.

Public Service Medal

  • Mr Tony Layh - For outstanding public service to the community, particularly in the area of prison procurement and relations.
 

What's on with Mon

COMMUNITY EVENTS:

 Here are upcoming events that I’d love to see you at:

  • TODAY Saturday January 28th 11am onwards: Come and say hello at the Whitehorse Lunar New Year festivities. Celebrate the Year of the Rabbit. 
     
  • Thursday February 2nd, 6:30- 8pm Kooyong Town Hall
     
  • Sunday February 5th 10:30am: Independent and Proud. Join me at Melbourne's annual Midsumma Pride March. I'll be the one in the fabulous teal sequins!  
     
  • Sunday February 19th 4pm: Politics in the Pub at Nevermind Bar. 
     
  • Tuesday February 28th 6:30-8pm: Kooyong’s Community Refugee Sponsorship Australia Forum. Register here to attend.
     
  • Thursday March 2nd: Indigenous Voice to Parliament - Kooyong info night at the Hawthorn Arts Centre. Register here . further details to com e in next few weeks. 
     
  • Friday March 24th 6:30 - 8pm: Electric Vehicle Forum (Malvern Town Hall) in partnership with Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Member for Higgins): further details to come.  

Expressions of interest are still open for those interested in joining Kooyong Community Consultation groups. Please fill in an Expression of Interest to register your interest in joining a group- and to let us know if there are other issues you’d like to discuss with the team and other members of the Kooyong community.

I look forward to seeing you all in the streets of Kooyong before I return to Canberra for the next Parliamentary sitting on 6.2.23. It's going to be a big year for a legislation point of view - we'll be working on the Safeguard Mechanism, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, whistleblower legislation, the next Budget.. and looking to bring a few of our own issues to the table. Can't wait to tell you all about it on the 2nd!

 

Warm regards

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