Page 201 - Week 01 - Thursday, 10 February 2022
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Several recipients are working in my portfolio spaces, across the arts and in multicultural affairs. I take this moment to pay tribute to some of those recipients and the outstanding service and contributions they have made to the ACT and to Australia. Many of these will be familiar names and faces to us here due to their tireless advocacy.
Our former colleague Deepak-Raj Gupta was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of his service to the Canberra community. Mr Gupta, the first Indian-born person elected to this place, is a well-respected and active leader of the territory’s Indian community. He has dedicated his life to sharing the rich culture of India with the community through his involvement in many roles and events which shine a light on heritage and traditions. These include his roles as a founding president of the Canberra India Council, serving on the board of the Australia India Council and establishing the World Curry Festival. I am grateful for how Mr Gupta generously shares his time, expertise and knowledge with me in my role as Minister for Multicultural Affairs.
Dewani Bakkum was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of her service to the Canberra community. Ms Bakkum has served and assisted the migrant and refugee community throughout her career in Canberra, changing the lives of so many. As Chief Executive of MARSS, Ms Bakkum is responsible for a comprehensive range of settlement activities and services for migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and humanitarian entrants. These include general settlement support; English language and literacy training; vocational education and training; emergency relief and financial literacy training; and employment services. Ms Bakkum has done—and she continues to do—so much to make Canberra a truly inclusive city and a refugee welcome zone.
Five outstanding Canberra women have also been recognised for their contribution to the arts and the cultural sector. Meredith Hinchliffe is the backbone of many Canberra arts institutions. She is a patron of and a generous donor to the Canberra Museum and Gallery; donor to the National Gallery and National Museum; a former director of Crafts Council ACT; and a former president of Ausdance ACT. Ms Hinchliffe has become a Member of the Order of Australia for her significant service to the arts through these many organisations.
Ms Hinchliffe’s contribution to the arts scene in Canberra is worthy of the highest recognition, given how she exemplifies what it means to support, promote, advocate for and celebrate local arts, artists and arts production. She has been instrumental in ensuring that the Canberra arts scene is viewed, known and understood on a national and an international scale. Thanks to her, several organisations have been able to acquire works that they would not have been otherwise able to do.
A Medal of the Order of Australia has been awarded to Lynn Fletcher for service to the arts through children’s literature. In her role as secretary of the National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature, and former president of the Children’s Book Council of Australia, Canberra branch, Mrs Fletcher has a drive and passion to collect, document and preserve Australian children’s books and literature.
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