Kiama Council has officially launched the Australia Day Awards for 2018 and are inviting people to nominate an everyday hero.
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The launch, held at Kiama Library on Tuesday, included the unveiling of a new-look range of awards and changes to the Kiama awards ceremony.
There’s been a bit of controversy lately about Australia Day – we don’t take that view.
- Councillor Neil Riley
“This year the Australia Day Awards are going to be aligned with Australia Day, which might sound strange, but in previous years we’ve held the awards before the date,” chair of the Australia Day and Awards Committee Cr Neil Riley said.
“The other thing we’re doing slightly differently is we’re moving it around the locations we have here in the municipality. We’re going out to Jamberoo this time, normally the citizenship ceremony is held in Hindmarsh Park, but we’ll have the awards and the citizenship ceremony at Jamberoo.
“The following year, we will go to Minnamurra, the year after that Gerringong / Gerroa and the year after that back here in Kiama.”
The Kiama Australia Day Awards include Young Citizen of the Year, Senior Citizen of the Year, Citizen of the Year and a new addition to the awards for 2018 is Community Group of the Year.
“The important thing is the notion of nominating someone,” Cr Riley said.
“There’s been a bit of controversy lately about Australia Day – we don’t take that view.
“Australia Day is not about the discovery of the nation or the proclamation of the nation, it’s about the people, and for the most part they’re just ordinary people, but ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
“It might be a single mum sacrificing things for her children to have a better life, a volunteer bus driver sacrificing their time so other people can have a better quality of life, an ordinary bloke who jumps in the ocean to save someone’s life, the ordinary person who joins a committee to help our community grow and prosper or it might be someone who fosters children.
“What we’re asking people to do is to nominate an ordinary person doing an extraordinary thing, so we can thank them with an award and encourage other people to do the same.
“It’s on the Kiama Council website and it’s a very easy form to fill out.”
Visit www.kiama.nsw.gov.au for more information.
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