Page 118 - Week 01 - Tuesday, 9 February 2010
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about engaging in motor sport and about watching motor sport. There is no doubt that under the ACT Labor government over the last few years they have been neglected and they have been treated as second-class citizens. The representations that we have had from Brindabella Motor Sport Club simply highlight one group that is in that category.
I would like to put on the record my admiration for them and for the work that they do. They are a vibrant and passionate group of people. They have a lot to contribute and they should have a government that is prepared to work with them to find ways of allowing them to engage in their sport and in their hobby. They very much understand the challenges and the limitations on government. But, unfortunately, in recent years we have very much seen that the ACT Labor government has an attitude of hostility towards motor sport; you can list any number of examples of that.
We take a different view. We believe that it is a legitimate sport, that it is an important sport and that those many thousands of Canberrans who enjoy it should get more support from their government than they do at the moment.
Professor Patrick McGorry
Mr Michael Firestone
MS BRESNAN (Brindabella) (5.36): I would just like to acknowledge today the Australian of the Year, Patrick McGorry. It is wonderful that his dedication and innovative work in mental health, particularly with young people through Orygen and Headspace, have been given this due recognition with him being honoured as Australian of the Year.
Patrick has been recognised not just here in Australia but around the world through the innovative model he has used with young people in mental health, in adopting a very much holistic and integrated model of care, looking at not just the mental health and the health of the person but also at issues like housing and employment and all those other issues that actually impact greatly on the mental health of someone and enable them to get better. Obviously, the work he has done has very much looked at that community-based model, working in the community at the grassroots and providing that trusting environment for people with mental illness.
I did have the honour of working with him on a number of occasions on a number of committees and he is a very humble person. So it is wonderful that he has received this award because he is not someone who has big-noted himself over the years.
I would also like to take a moment to pay a special tribute to Michael Firestone, who passed away just a week ago. Michael was an incredibly intelligent and caring young man. He was a delight to spend time with and a friend to many. In most recent times some of you may have known Michael as the information officer for the Mental Health Consumer Network. Pretty much every email from the network came from him. He also contributed as a consumer to the development of mental health policy, including the Greens’ recent discussion paper, and he also spent some time with my staffer Kate, nervously operating 2XX equipment during the show Opening Minds.
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