Association President, Ed Willis met with Andrew Hastie, MHR for Canning, on August 20. Ed lives in his electorate and was invited to meet Mr Hastie after he had read a paper Ed had prepared on the ‘Future of the Dare Memorial and a possible WWII Memorial In Dili’. Progress on the outcome of that discussion will be the topic of a future Facebook post and Doublereds news item.
Finally, Mr Hastie said would like to use the 2/2 Timor story as the basis of a new award he wished to introduce for schools in the Canning electorate (those that are presented at assemblies and the like). He asked for one or two words that would sum up the 2/2’s Timor campaign and off the top of his head Ed said ‘resilience’ and it was agreed that the award would go ahead as the ‘Double Reds Resilience Award’. Ed undertook to supply additional background material to Mr Hastie’s office staff that would help them to proceed with preparations to commence making the Award.
In a Parliamentary speech made on 21 October, Mr Hastie announced:
“This week the first awards will be presented to students in Canning. Unfortunately, we're all here so I won't be able to award them myself, but I do want to pass on my congratulations.
First, congratulations to Micaela Paterson, a grade 12 student from Byford Secondary College who received the award last night. Micaela has displayed a high degree of support and care for her family whilst working hard at her academic studies. She hasn't allowed hardship or adversity to define her, even under the most difficult circumstances.
Second, congratulations to Dylan Harris, a grade 12 student from Mandurah Baptist College. Dylan will receive the award tonight for his perseverance and tenacity over the past two years, despite dealing with significant health challenges. His efforts have enabled him to attain an early offer of entry into university in his chosen field.
Finally, I'm very proud to say that the award has received the endorsement of the 2/2 Commando Association of Australia. I'm confident that the next generation of Australians can continue their legacy of toughness resilience in the face of adversity”.
Mr Hastie’s Parliamentary remarks about the award can be seen at:
The revised version of the award brief is attached.
Edited by Edward Willis
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