Jack Beetson "Unsung Hero" Award
Page: 12902
Mr MARKHAM (Wollongong—Parliamentary Secretary) [11.40 a.m.]: I move:
That this House:
(1) congratulates Aboriginal philosopher and teacher Jack Beetson on being awarded the United Nations "Unsung Hero" award in the United Nations 2001 Year of International Dialogue Among Civilised Nations.
(2) recognises that Mr Beetson's award was one of only 12 United Nations Awards presented to "Unsung Heroes" throughout the world.
(3) recognises Jack Beetson as the only Australian to receive the United Nations "Unsung Hero" Award.
In January this year the United Nations named Aboriginal teacher Jack Beetson an Unsung Hero of Dialogue. This year, 2001, is the United Nations Year of International Dialogue Among Civilisations. The United Nations has identified what it refers to as "examples of human courage—the unsung heroes of dialogue who have faced adversity and looked beyond cultural, social, economic and racial issues to find a solution". Only 12 people in the world have been recognised as unsung heroes of dialogue. Jack Beetson is one of them. He shares this great honour with people such as Margaret Gibney, who, at the age of 14, wrote to Prime Minister Tony Blair about the war in Northern Ireland; Sultan Sornjee of Kenya, an ethnographer who, through the African Peace Museum, encourages indigenous communities to share their traditions of peace; and Zlata Filipovic, the teenage girl whose diary of the war in Sarajevo brought home the horror and tragedy of war as no news report ever could. The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, has said:
I see … dialogue as a chance for people of different cultures and traditions to get to know each other better, whether they live on opposite sides of the world or on the same street.
It is up to us, in the Year of International Dialogue Among Civilisations, to push the process of reconciliation forward by promoting a culture of respect and openness. That is what Jack Beetson does. Jack left school in Nyngan at the age of 13 and worked as a shearer, cotton chipper and labourer. He came to Tranby Aboriginal College as a student more than 15 years ago and went on to become a teacher, principal and executive director. Tranby has flourished under Jack's leadership. Generations of Aboriginal people have been nurtured, educated and given strength and confidence by Tranby Aboriginal College. It is a fine example of self-determination in education.
In addition to his work at Tranby, Jack and his family also run the Aboriginal philosophy farm Linga Longa at their home on the mid north coast. The philosophy farm is an annual forum for indigenous and non-indigenous Australians to come together, to engage in dialogue and to learn from one another. Jack is a tireless campaigner for human rights and self-determination, and his campaign is one of communication and negotiation. As an educator, and through his Aboriginal philosophy farm, Jack has provided the means for Aboriginal people to speak out, and to share their culture and experiences. Jack's philosophy is based on people—listening, sharing and coming to a mutual understanding. He is a generous soul with a rare depth of knowledge and compassion, and he is a great deal of fun as well.
Jack has said publicly that he will use his honour as an unsung hero of dialogue to highlight the struggle of Aboriginal people for human rights, to promote reconciliation and to speak out for street kids. Jack Beetson has been doing that for more than 20 years. He will continue to do so for the rest of his life because that is Jack Beetson. Jack Beetson's involvement with Tranby Aboriginal College started many years ago. Tranby Aboriginal College is at 13 Mansfield Street, Glebe. The shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and I have attended numerous functions there during the past five or six years and I have no doubt that the shadow Minister will make some reference to that later. In 1957 Reverend Hope pledged a nineteenth century house in Glebe to the Australian Board of Missions (Anglican) Christian Community Co-operative for use as a training centre for the development of co-operative practices for Aborigines.
Tranby Aboriginal College began in 1958 with eight students, one of the first independent Aboriginal adult education institutions in New South Wales. By 1995 thousands of Aboriginal students from all over Australia, as well as from the Torres Strait Islands, Papua and New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Fiji and New Zealand, had attended the college or had attended courses externally. Courses offered by Tranby include diploma courses in Aboriginal studies, legal studies and development studies, as well as the Tertiary Preparation Certificate and foundation, literacy and numeracy skills. Tranby's annual enrolment has increased from around 25 to 170 students last year. In 1998 new buildings, which are unique in their design, were added at the back of the original Victorian House, fitting in with the natural environment and reflecting Aboriginal culture and spiritual values. They are world-class buildings of which everyone at Tranby is justifiably proud.
Jack Beetson's involvement with Tranby college began in 1985 when he was a student doing his Tertiary Preparation Certificate. It was this study that enabled Jack to go to the University of Technology, Sydney, in 1989 to study for an Associate Diploma of Education, and Bachelor of Education in 1993. From 1987 to 1988 Jack taught business studies and Aboriginal cultural studies at Tranby. From 1989 to 1992 he was the Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Education Co-ordinator. From 1993 to 1996 he was the Director of Studies and since 1997 he has been Executive Director. The list of things that Jack has done is extensive and this House should be proud to support the motion.
Jack has represented Tranby college on a variety of committees, councils, and both government and non-government agencies, including the Asia South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education; the Pacific Islands Association of Non-government Organisations; the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation; the Working Group on Indigenous Populations; the People and Development Working Party to the United Nations; the councils of the University of Technology, Sydney, and the Southern Cross University, Lismore—representing the New South Wales Minister for Education and Training; the Federation of Independent Aboriginal Education Providers; the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, the State Reconciliation Committee; and Australians Against Racism.
Most importantly, for nine years Jack Beetson presented a feature radio talk-back program on ABC radio's Triple J and 2BL. In 1997 Jack co-founded the Aboriginal philosophy farm at Rollands Plains on the mid North Coast of New South Wales. In 2000 the Inaugural World Indigenous People's Philosophy Week was held with resounding success. Jack's philosophy on life is:
Life is about human rights and education, and education is a critical component for people to access these rights. The right of self-determination is also important, as a part of education. The other thing I see as important through my life are street kids. Basically what I want to do is to give street kids the opportunity that others gave me and the patience that others offered me.
What Jack Beetson has done and continues to do is incredible. His achievements include establishing the philosophy farm Linga Longa. It is easy to understand why he has been given the distinction by the United Nations of being an unsung hero. The Linga Longa Aboriginal Philosophy Farm was established by Jack and Shani Beetson in December 1996. It is the Beetsons' home as well as the venue of the Aboriginal philosophy weekend each year. Linga Longa is situated in the upper reaches of the Hastings Valley on the mid North Coast. It is a 40-hectare property in Birpai country and is open to all people all year round. Jack and Shani invite people to visit for a few hours, a day, or overnight. Linga Longa is a venue for school and cultural awareness camps catering for all ages of the life cycle. Bush tucker walks, bush medicine walks, art workshops and storytelling are among the activities offered at Linga Longa.
Every year, beginning Easter Monday, Linga Longa hosts Philosophy Week, a week of camping out under the stars or in a tent, sitting around a campfire, sharing views on spirituality, environmental protection, reconciliation and sustainability. It is an opportunity for non-indigenous and indigenous people to learn more about the indigenous culture, philosophies, values and world views. The theme of this year's philosophy weekend is "Reconciliation—Beyond the Bridge". As Jack Beetson has said, "Crossing the harbour bridge for reconciliation is only the first step. We are now required to take the plunge." I do not think that anyone in this House would disagree with that view of this incredible Aboriginal teacher and philosopher. [Time expired.]
Mr HAZZARD (Wakehurst) [11.50 a.m.]: As the New South Wales shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, I have great pleasure in supporting the motion moved by the honourable member for Wollongong about this significant event. Jack Beetson is indeed a worthy recipient of the United Nations Unsung Hero Award. I have known Jack for some years through my role as shadow Minister, and he stands out in both the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities as someone who is committed to trying to improve the conditions under which Aboriginal Australians live. His achievements are awesome. I first met Jack Beetson at Tranby Aboriginal College, Glebe. The honourable member for Wollongong gave some history of that college. Although it has been in existence for almost 50 years, many Sydneysiders and many Australians still do not know it is there. Tranby is the epitome of people doing it for themselves.
Despite what we hear from some quarters, Aboriginal Australians have not been given a fair go since colonisation of Australia. Much of the reason for the lack of a fair go is due to the lack of education and other opportunities for Aboriginal people. Education is a key part of improving the lot of Aboriginal Australians. The activities at Tranby are a model for the rest of Australia. Indeed, to a greater or lesser extent that model has been adopted around Australia. Tranby stands out as a best-of-the-best example of what people can do to help themselves. The college is structured in a way that reflects its history. The architectural style of the building, which was donated by Reverend Hope, is Victorian. As one walks through the front passageway towards the back area, which underwent a major refurbishment a few years ago, one walks into an area that is distinctly Aboriginal. The honourable member for Wollongong said that the building was built with an awareness of Aboriginal culture. The building has been built in circles.
Mr Markham: No corners.
Mr HAZZARD: It has no corners; it is built in circles. A great deal of Aboriginal culture is about passing on knowledge from one generation to another; it is about learning. When knowledge was passed on it was traditionally done in learning circles. The elders passed on their traditional history and education to younger people to give them a sense of self-esteem and an idea of their place in the universe. All of that happened in learning circles, and there are learning circles at Tranby. Much of what Jack Beetson and others have done has been designed to bring to Aboriginal Australians knowledge of their place in the universe, something they may have wondered about after the influence of 211 years of European culture.
The partnership of Jack Beetson and Tranby college has been a great one. When one attends Tranby on graduation days or on other special occasions one sees the fruits of the labours of so many Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Aboriginal people have attained different levels at various courses at Tranby. They have been under some sense of pressure, but it is all about moving forward, achieving a little more. If one completes a course and earns a diploma that is a big bonus, but any steps taken along that path are also acknowledged. We all deserve recognition when we take extra steps in order to learn. I have seen many Aboriginal Australians benefit from the work that Jack Beetson and his colleagues have undertaken at Tranby. Their efforts are worthy of mention in this House, and not only because Jack has been given this special award by the United Nations.
The honourable member for Wollongong did not mention that the college operates without government funding. I believe it should be given government funding. Having said that, I can appreciate why it would not want to be bothered with going through all the red tape to get that funding and then having to account every year for how it has been used. The Friends of Tranby is an organisation that has been established to raise funds, and its members cheerfully go about fulfilling that purpose. The honourable member for Wollongong and I have attended many of their functions, although his association with the group is longer than mine. He should be proud of his efforts in support of both Aboriginal Australians and Tranby, and Tranby continues to exist because of the support it receives from so many people.
Jack Beetson is a quiet man. Invariably he wears a hat, and welcomes one into the Tranby community at Glebe or elsewhere. At Tranby there always seems to be a sense of Jack's presence. Many members of the Opposition are pleased that Jack has been acknowledged as one of the world's major fighters for human rights. Jack is undoubtedly worthy of the award and on behalf of the Coalition I congratulate him on receiving it. I commend Jack and his wife for the excellent work they do at their property and at Tranby. Jack is a fighter, albeit a quiet fighter, on many fronts on behalf of Aboriginal people. I congratulate and thank him for that.
The Leader of the Opposition wants me to pass on her congratulations, and a number of other members have also asked me to do so. I will not go through the list, but the honourable member for Burrinjuck, who is present in the Chamber, would like me to pass on her congratulations, as well as the honourable member for Vaucluse, who confirmed that he has known Jack Thompson for some time and believes the award is well earned. While I am on the topic of fighting, there are many areas in which Jack would like to see improvement. Last week the honourable member for Burrinjuck drew to my attention that in her view education is the big issue for Aboriginal people. If we can address the educational issues and give people a sense of self-worth, self-esteem and job skills Aboriginal Australians will be able to lead a fuller life than, in many cases, they do now.
The honourable member pointed out to me that she has written on numerous occasions to the Minister for Education and Training seeking an Aboriginal education assistant in Yass. The honourable member for Burrinjuck told me that there are three public schools in Yass but each school has less than 30 Aboriginal students, which apparently is the magic number for obtaining an Aboriginal education assistant. That is an example of the sort of problems that arise. On behalf of the honourable member for Burrinjuck and all members on this side of the House, I say that it is time the Government got practical about these issues.
It is time that the Government did what Jack Beetson and others want it to do. It is time the Government provided an education assistant to schools, such as the schools in Yass, on whose behalf the honourable member for Burrinjuck is fighting. There is a part-time assistant in the area now, but that is not good enough. We want a full-time Aboriginal education assistant. Such circumstances are repeated all over the State. Jack, we want to help you fight, we are happy to be a part of this. We support you in what you have been doing. We hope that your voice is not silenced at any stage and that you keep on fighting. We congratulate you again on the United Nations award.
Mr MILLS (Wallsend) [12.00 p.m.]: It is an honour for me to support the motion moved by the honourable member for Wollongong, the Parliamentary Secretary for Aboriginal Affairs, which congratulates Jack Beetson, the Aboriginal philosopher and teacher, on being awarded the United Nations Unsung Heroes Award in this the International Year of Dialogue Among Civilisations. I am also pleased to acknowledge the support of the Opposition for this motion. The award, which is great recognition of the work of Jack Beetson, was one of only 12 United Nations awards to unsung heroes throughout the world. Jack Beetson was the only Australian to receive the Unsung Hero Award. To my way of thinking, an unsung hero is someone who has not achieved fame through his outstanding work and courage.
Jack Beetson could walk down the streets of Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Canberra or Melbourne and he would not be recognised. But he would turn heads in most New South Wales country towns where there are significant Aboriginal communities. He would also turn heads in Glebe and some other parts of Sydney. The unsung heroes project will involve the production by the United Nations of a series of 12, one for each month of the year, televised public service announcements—I believe they will be televised through the BBC and CNN—which will highlight people who have pursued throughout their lives tolerance of diversity and respect for other people's views, cultural beliefs, race or ways of life. These people are recognised as having made major contributions to a society based on justice, equality, understanding and co-operation.
The United Nations General Assembly decided three years ago to designate this year as the International Year of Dialogue Among Civilisations. The United Nations resolution at that time recognised the "diverse civilisational achievements of mankind, crystallising cultural pluralism and creative human diversity". The resolution emphasised the importance of tolerance in international relations and the significant role of dialogue as a means to reach understanding, to remove threats to peace, and to strengthen interaction and exchange among civilisations. Why is Jack Beetson an unsung hero? He has worked with the various indigenous delegations at the United Nations in New York and Geneva in Switzerland with the Working Group on Indigenous Populations. He led a group from the South Pacific to a United Nations meeting in New York looking at populations and development. The Koori Mail stated:
His views on reconciliation in Australia are wide-ranging, possibly a result of the countless number of intense discussions around the campfire at an annual retreat he hosts—
which was referred to by the Parliamentary Secretary—
for indigenous and non-indigenous people at Linga Longa Philosophy Farm.
In the article Mr Beetson said:
The annual camp-out is a great opportunity for non-indigenous and indigenous Australians to come together to talk about things such as reconciliation, Aboriginal philosophies, kinship, family values, to better relations between black and white.
The article continued:
With 2001 named by the UN as the International Year of Dialogue Among Civilisations, Mr Beetson wonders whether "civilised dialogue" in Australia is being ambushed by the Federal Government
In the article Mr Beetson also said:
Its refusal to say sorry (to the stolen generations), its refusal to sit down and listen to the hopes, aspirations and concerns of indigenous peoples in this country all make me think the reconciliation process has been railroaded.
Unfortunately, many people thought that when the reconciliation march walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, it was like a closing ceremony for reconciliation, which in a way frightens me.
I find that scary too. The great achievements and life works of Jack Beetson have been well outlined by the Parliamentary Secretary. I refer to a paper entitled "Adult Education and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples", which was an address by Jack Beetson to the General Assembly of the Asia South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education, which met in Darwin in December 1996. Jack gave that address as President of the Federation of Independent Aboriginal Education Providers. In his address he examined the role and responsibility of adult education in relation to the special rights of first peoples. I commend that address for reading by all honourable members. It is a pleasure to support the motion.
Mr THOMPSON (Rockdale) [12.05 p.m.]: In its constant efforts to promote and maintain peace in the world, the United Nations promotes issues and themes for the world community to consider and to be involved in. The year 2000 was proclaimed to be the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the period 2001-2010 was proclaimed as the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World. It was with that background that the United Nations declared 2001 to be the United Nations International Year of Dialogue Among Civilisations. Recognising that examples are the best means to convey a message in a convincing manner, the United Nations selected from all parts of the world 12 individuals who it believed epitomised what it was wanting to demonstrate. Those 12 individuals were named "The Unsung Heroes of Dialogue". The faces, names and stories of the 12 unsung heroes will be shown worldwide in short television spots as many times as possible during this year.
In essence, the United Nations is highlighting 12 individuals from a spectrum of societies that have reached across the divide, as it were, to the other side. These people are recognised as having made major contributions to a society based on justice, equality, understanding and co-operation. Anyone who knows of Jack Beetson would surely agree that his selection by the world body as an unsung hero is most apt. Jack would not agree, such is his humility. When told of the award he was quoted as saying, "It's the most humbling thing that's ever happened to me." Jack Beetson is 44 years of age. He was born of a Wongaibon mother and a Ngemba father in Nyngan. He left school at 13 to go cotton chipping, shearing and labouring. Like most Aborigines, Jack endured great hardship, struggle and prejudice. Jack's progress in life has been remarkable. The Sydney Morning Herald on 18 January reported that Jack Beetson has now taught 5,000 to 6,000 Aborigines about indigenous culture. The article stated:
Before he turned to explaining indigenous ways of thinking to them, he hated whites. Long before he began hosting street kids at his Linga Longa Philosophy Farm at Rollands Plains, 400 kilometres north of Sydney, he was one himself, with a taste for drugs and other bad habits.
And so he said yesterday: "I'm not looking at myself through rose-coloured glasses … I could name 2,000 people off the top of my head who deserve this more than me."
He thinks the thousands of others he has worked with should share his honour, from his wife Shani and their three children, to those who phoned him during nine years of regular spots on ABC radio.
Jack is an excellent communicator with a depth of knowledge, understanding and compassion that enables him to communicate readily across all boundaries of class, gender and race. He has been a tireless worker for justice and self-determination for Aboriginal people. He has travelled extensively, campaigning for the rights of all indigenous people. Jack has addressed the United Nations, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation, and other international forums on indigenous issues, particularly education and specifically indigenous education. I first met Jack Beetson when I attended a function at Tranby Aboriginal College in Glebe. Jack and Tranby are synonymous. It is hard to imagine one without the other. I refer to the logo of Tranby Aboriginal College, which is the Learning Tree. I quote from Tranby's information booklet, because it very eloquently explains what Tranby is about and, by extension, what motivates Jack Beetson:
This logo evokes a traditional place of learning—in the shelter of the great tree—a meeting place, a place of shared learning and understanding.
Tranby provides a teaching/learning environment which respects and nurtures culturally appropriate ways of sharing and gaining knowledge; holistically, intuitively, creatively, spiritually and always respectfully.
Utilising this widely recognised logo of Tranby, the College continues to promote mutual respect, understanding and acceptance with all Australians. In addition, Tranby continues to promote and maintain unity within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and to champion the rights of all indigenous peoples throughout the world.
Thus the Learning Tree stands proudly to represent Tranby's nurturing, spiritually and culturally appropriate environment which supports indigenous Australians to pursue and strengthen their dreams and aspirations, individually and collectively.
That describes not only what Tranby college is all about but, by extension, it also very eloquently sums up what motivates Jack Beetson. I congratulate him on this great achievement of being given this United Nations award.
Mr MARKHAM (Wollongong—Parliamentary Secretary) [12.10 p.m.], in reply: I thank the honourable member for Wakehurst, the honourable member for Rockdale and the honourable member for Wallsend for their contributions to the debate in recognising Jack Beetson as one of the United Nations 12 unsung heroes. A speech that Jack Beetson gave in Darwin in 1996 is a very pertinent part of this debate, and it has been referred to by a number of speakers. I will read into Hansard the very first part of his address to indigenous people on the Adult Education and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples seminar:
Greetings, ASPBAE delegates, distinguished guests and friends.
I will begin, as is the custom amongst our people, by paying my respects to the owners of the land on which we meet, the Larrakia people, whose ancestral lands include all of what is now known as the city of Darwin. I likewise pay my respects to all the indigenous peoples of this land who have gone before me, and who, in the last 200 years, have struggled, against the genocidal invasion of this continent, to keep our peoples and our culture strong, so that we would survive. On their shoulders I stand today.
I seek leave to have the remainder of Jack's speech incorporated in Hansard.
Leave granted.
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Today has an historic significance for the recognition by adult education in this country of the rights and interests of indigenous peoples. I believe this is the first time that Australia has selected two indigenous people as its voting country delegates to the ASPBAE General Assembly, myself and Donna Ah Chee. The fact that this has happened is not an accident, or a chance occurrence. It is because of the many years of struggle that indigenous people and their non indigenous supporters have fought, both in this country and internationally, to bring forward the recognition of our special rights, as First Peoples. It is this topic, the special rights of First Peoples, in Australia and in the Asia Pacific Region, and the continued denial of those rights, to which I want to address my remarks in the brief time I have.
Indigenous peoples are sometimes called Fourth World peoples. In Australia, there are two groups of indigenous peoples, the Aboriginal peoples, and the Torres Strait Islanders. I am Aboriginal, and will speak about our situation, though some of what I say applies to Torres Strait Islanders too. We are called Fourth World peoples because although in Australia—and also in other developed countries—the dominant economy is a first world economy, our people live in conditions which are as bad, if not worse, than many third world and developing country peoples.
Make no mistake what the reason for this is—it is because we have been the victims of racist colonialism. Our lands have been invaded, our traditional systems of law and government undermined, our people killed or rounded up into government and church run settlements, our resources stolen and our cultures and languages reviled. Like the Kanaks of New Caledonia, like the East Timorese just a few hundred kilometres to our north, like the West Papuans, indeed, like most indigenous peoples in this part of the globe, the last two hundred years, since the colonisers began arriving from the northern hemisphere, has for us been a terrible time. But Aboriginal people have lived in Australia for over 50,000 years, and we are not disappearing. Ours are the longest continuous surviving cultures on this plant, and they are rich and vibrant cultures of which we are most proud.
While our cultures, our laws, our languages survive, they are today still very much under threat, as they have been since the first Europeans set foot on this continent. They are under threat because of ignorance and because of greed. Ignorance and greed lead the powerful minority of non-indigenous people who determine the course of events in this part of the world to refuse to recognise our rights to exist as a people, as First Peoples. Australia is a first world country, made rich from the plunder of our lands and resources, with a national budget many times that of developing countries, and with some of its citizens and its corporations among the wealthiest and most powerful in the world. Yet what is the situation of our people. The Aboriginal Social Justice Commissioner, Michael Dodson, compared our situation with non-indigenous Australians in these words:
(a) Our women are four to five times more likely to die in childbirth.
(b) The children they bear are three times more like to die in infancy.
(c) If they survive, our children will almost certainly suffer hearing impediments before they are even four months old..
(d) They will have less access to decent medical services than any other children in the country.
(e) As they grow older, they will have a significantly lower chance of getting through high school, and later, of obtaining a decent job.
(f) Finally, our people have a life expectancy 20 years below that of the average Australian.
(g) Indigenous people are dying at ten times the rate of the national average.
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Mr MARKHAM: It is a very important speech. People who want to read about Jack Beetson will appreciate what he had to say in Darwin. I heard what the honourable member for Wakehurst, the shadow Minister for Aboriginal affairs, had to say about Tranby and he is correct: I have been to many functions with him over the years, but I have been associated with Tranby and Jack Beetson for something like 12 years. But a number of other people to whom the shadow Minister referred, such as Kevin Cook and Kevin Tory, have made Tranby college what it is today. Their dedication and the dedication of many other elders from the numerous nations throughout New South Wales have helped Jack Beetson, the Executive Director of Tranby, to achieve so much. Right here and now we are in the country of the Eora people. It is very important that we recognise that. As Jack said at the start of his speech in Darwin, he recognised the people and the role they played in that part of the world.
It is important for us to recognise at every opportunity that we debate all sorts of issues in this place on Aboriginal land. The Gadigal tribe inhabited this area and the foreshores of Sydney's beautiful harbour. Jack Beetson is one of the most humble men you would ever come across. When he received this award he rang me to say, "Col, I have just been given an award by the United Nations and I wanted to tell a few people about it." That is Jack Beetson. He is an incredibly humble man, but an incredible worker and a great philosopher. Many years ago Jack said to me that when he was a boy he was a wild, uncontrollable black fella. Jack said to me, "One of my uncles took me aside one day after I got myself into some trouble and he said, 'You've got to turn your head around, boy, and you've got to start doing things for your people. You've got the ability. You've got to start doing things for your people. What you've got to remember in life, Jack, is that you're no better than any other person in the world but there is not another person in the world any better than you.'"
Jack often relates that story. It has really put him on the path to where he is today. It is quite easy to see why he became an unsung hero and why the United Nations has recognised his work. He is the only person in Australia to receive such an award. Last weekend Rotary District 9750 recognised Jack Beetson's United Nations Award and congratulated him on his outstanding work for rotary at its annual conference held at the Wentworth Hotel. As a mark of respect, and for the first time, Rotary District 9750 included the Aboriginal flag in the flag ceremony at the opening of its annual conference on Saturday 24 March, which the Governor of Australia opened. Well done, Jack! You have the support of everyone in this Parliament. I know that this motion will be passed by all members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly.
Motion agreed to.