Page 970 - Week 04 - Wednesday, 17 June 1992

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I quote again, Mr Deputy Speaker, from the speech that was given at the time, where it says:

Butlin was nothing if not controversial but his arguments were always based on evidence, researched meticulously from available sources. In adding greatly to those sources he contributed enormously to the quality of academic discourse in Australia.

I believe that as the decades roll on Australians of all persuasions and all walks of life will come to realise the valuable contribution that Noel Butlin has made to the preservation of the records of the history of Australia. I believe that, if we can encourage businesses, organisation peak bodies, organisations like the Business Council, the Chambers of Commerce and the trade union bodies in the ACT to house their materials in the Noel Butlin Archive Centre, then, indeed, we will be a richer society for it.

Mirinjani Retirement Village

MS ELLIS (3.54): I rise very briefly to refer again, as I did earlier today, to my visit to Mirinjani on Monday; but this referral is on a far more positive note. On Monday, during the opening ceremony of the 20-bed extension to the nursing home facility at Mirinjani, mention was made that during the highlighted period of the fundraising for that facility by the Mirinjani Auxiliary and supporters they were hopeful of finding someone in the community who was a considerable dollar value supporter or contributor to the project. I think the figure they put on it was someone who would donate $50,000 or more and that person would get the naming rights of one of the two wings of this new nursing home extension. However, I am pleased to say that even though that would be a very nice gesture, and I am not one to criticise it, I think they found a far more preferable way of naming one of the two wings, and that was to name it in honour of Mary Reid. Mary was there at the time. She had no idea that this was going to happen. Mary is the leader or the head of the volunteers of the Mirinjani Auxiliary and supporters.

The words used by the chairman of the committee at the time of this announcement were that, instead of looking for someone donating in terms of dollars, they decided to name the wing after someone donating in other terms, and the sort of commitment that people like Mary Reid make to the community through the work that they do in these places deserved such recognition. I would like to commend, first of all, Mary for the fact that she has done such work and has worked so hard and has been rewarded in this way. I would also like to commend Mirinjani and the committee involved because I think it is an extremely appropriate way of recognising the work of supporters. I would like this Assembly to take note of that.


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