Ministers visit to launch regional and community awards

KATINA CURTIS

THE seventh annual NSW/ACT Regional Achievement and Community Awards were launched in Kiama this week with the announcement of a new category to recognise groups that manage crown reserves.

The awards encourage, acknowledge and reward valuable contributions and outstanding achievements by individuals, networks and groups in regional and rural areas.

Lands Minister Tony Kelly said his department had decided to sponsor the new categories – for corporate and community crown reserve trusts – to recognise the passion and initiative of people who went the extra step to make their communities more viable and vibrant.

“This award is part of a broader campaign by the Government to acknowledge and encourage volunteers in our community,” he said.

“The campaign’s tagline sums it up nicely: it only takes a small effort to build a community.”

The director general of the lands department, Warwick Watkins, said there were 33,000 crown reserves in the State, covering about 48 per cent of NSW land, and community groups managed more than 1000 of these.

He said showgrounds offered particular challenges because they were usually used just once or twice a year but needed constant maintenance.

The other categories are for regional service, environmental and landcare work, business enterprise and events and tourism.

There is also a community of the year award with categories for towns with a population under 15,000 and over 15,000.

“These awards have been designed to recognise people outside of metropolitan areas who believe that a country and a State is more than just cities,” said Ross Elsely, a regional general manager with awards sponsor Commonwealth Bank.

Entry forms for the awards are available from Commonwealth Bank branches. Visit www.awardsaustralia.com for more information about the categories.

Nominations close on August 8.