CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Mr GREGG (Deakin) (09:57): Today I want to talk about a special event I had the privilege of hosting in my community: the 2026 Deakin Community Awards. This special night was about thanking and recognising the people and organisations that make our community tick. Deakin is full of good people and goodwill.

It's full of people who decide to give their time, their energy and their expertise for the benefit of others. It's full of people who see a challenge, a need or an opportunity to bring people together and they roll up their sleeves and get on with it. Whether it's providing a warm meal or bed for someone who needs it, cleaning up our local environment, helping someone new to our area get involved or a small business sponsoring local clubs and societies, they're all important.

They're positive impacts that make Deakin such a wonderful place to live. We recognise dozens of nominees on the night. I couldn't afford enough trophies to give one to every organisation that deserves it, but I want to make special mention of the organisations that did win the award on the night: Eastern Emergency Relief Network won the Volunteer Impact award; Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network won the Youth Services award; Ian Barnes won the Heart of the Community award; Mackenzie Li won the Rising Star Youth Achievement award; the Australian Iranian Society of Victoria and the Aga Khan Muslim council for Australia and New Zealand won the Intercultural Deakin Award; Heather Dale Creek Parklands Advisory Committee won the Environmental Action and Sustainability award; Nicole Stagg won the Sporting Spirit Award; Popit Recycling won the Business Innovation and Impact award; DentaLife won the Local Maker award; Eastland was named the Community Champion Business; Croydon Men's Shed won the Inclusiveness award; and Gitta Clayton won the Evergreen Spirit Award.

These people make our community vibrant, diverse and welcoming and a place that so many Australians are proud to call home. I'd like to thank Whitefriars for hosting us that night and for facilitating such a wonderful award space. At the beginning of the night, I saw community members of all ages and all backgrounds stand up side-by-side and proudly sing our national anthem.

You have some moments in this job where you just think to yourself, 'we are going to be OK'. I have a strong community, a community of proud Australians who are willing to come together and make the place better for everyone in it. There is hope and I could even see those light bulb moments when groups would meet each other, see what they're doing and identify opportunities to collaborate, get together and make the place even better.

While we often have discussions in this place about all the challenges we face, Australians are fundamentally decent and good people. They want to be part of the solution. It was fantastic to see the best of what our community has to offer, and I'm just so grateful for all the volunteers and fantastic organisations in Deakin for the enormous contributions they make which make Deakin a wonderful place to live.

Thank you very much.