The Order Winter 2013 - Order of Australia Association

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12 The Order No. 33, Winter 2013 The Order No. 33, Winter 2013 13 What a load of rubbish — but it was one man’s dream to clean up Australia and the world The name Ian Kiernan AO is synonymous with Clean Up Australia Day, a testament to the outstanding work Ian has done over the last 24 years. However, Clean Up Australia is more than just a day, it is an organisation that works throughout the whole year to educate and provide practical solutions to help the community, government and businesses live more sustainably every day of the year. The Clean Up story began in 1989 when an “average Australian bloke” had a simple idea to make a difference in his own backyard — Sydney Harbour. Two years previously Ian had recognised his lifelong dream of sailing around the world when he competed in the BOC Challenge solo around-the-world yacht race. As he sailed through the oceans he was so shocked by the amount of rubbish that he felt compelled to act. Once back in Sydney he organised the Clean Up event. It triggered an enormous public response, 40,000 Sydneysiders donating their time and energy to cleaning up the harbour. The next year Clean Up Australia Day was born and the idea went national. The idea was simple: get communities to take ownership of their local areas and lend a hand to clean up rubbish left by others, as well as encouraging less littering in the first place. It’s grown LEFT: A jubilant Ian Kiernan brandishes one of the now-recognisable bags of rubbish collected on “his” day. ABOVE: Two of Ian’s hundreds of thousands of Australian elves go about their duties in a nature park. RIGHT: An illustration of how widely Ian’s evangelism has spread — a few members of the legion of cleaner-uppers in and on the shores of Cuba over Clean Up the World Weekend. Cuba is one of the 116 countries that joined that event on the weekend of September 14 – 16 last year. The statistics toward the end of the report headed “The global dimension ...” (page 13, below right) are remarkable. into the largest community-based event in the country and, over the last 23 years, Australians have devoted more than 26,100,600 million hours and collected more than 288,650 tonnes of rubbish. Ian is now the Executive Chairman of Clean Up Australia Ltd and dedicates his time to overseeing the various events and acting as a passionate spokesman. This has been another successful year of the campaign, more than 550,330 volunteers donning their gloves and bags to remove 16,150 tonnes of rubbish from 7,341 sites across the nation. Despite some wild weather and challenges that nature has thrown at volunteers, such as the recent bush fires, heat waves and floods, Australians have proved once again that they have a desire to look after their environment and appreciate what they have. Although we are unable to control the aftermath of natural events that threaten our communities, we can control the amount of rubbish strewn in our parks, waterways, roadsides and beaches. Clean Up Australia Day enables people to make a commitment to improving their local areas and that can be a small or big effort; that’s the beauty of the day. All kinds of rubbish have been removed from the environment, from big items such as rusted cars pulled out of rivers and lakes to the smaller stuff such as hundreds of thousands of cigarette butts and plastic beverage containers. The organisation is ahead of the pack in its ability to mobilise hundreds of thousands of Australians to produce fundamental change but it’s a common misconception this is governmentfunded. It’s not and the organisers rely on support from individuals and corporations. A significant proportion of the donations received go towards providing kits to the community to enable them to conduct their clean-ups. From humble beginnings, the reach of Clean Up Australia has gone global with the support of the United Nations Environment Program [see page 13]. What does the future hold for Clean Up Australia? Unfortunately, Australians continue to produce an average of 2 tonnes each of rubbish a year so, although Ian would love to retire, that doesn’t look likely to happen soon! Outside of the iconic Clean Up event on the first Sunday of March every year, campaigning will continue for environmental reform including pushing for a national container deposit scheme, banning plastic bags and improved recycling facilities. For more information please visit www.cleanup.com.au or like us on Facebook The global dimension mobilising the world Founded 20 years ago, Clean Up the World has grown to become one of the largest and most successful environmental initiatives in the world, mobilising an estimated 39 million people each year in 132 countries. With the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as its primary partner, Clean Up the World contributes to the achievement of UNEP’s sustainable development policies at practical, grass-roots and community levels. On top of community-capacity building, participation in Clean Up the World delivers environmental and health benefits and contributes to the attainment of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Inspiration comes via communications from the Sydney team and Chairman and Founder Ian Kiernan AO; the Executive Director of UNEP, Achim Steiner; and through sharing the examples of other participants. Being part of and profiled as a member of a global network of organisations which are making positive changes in their communities, is another inspirational campaign element. Empowerment comes via the support success of activities undertaken. Success is promoted by the provision of free information, materials and support (delivered remotely via web, email and phone in English, French and Spanish), which helps participants plan, promote, conduct and find local sponsorship for activities relevant to their local community and environment. Activities undertaken around the globe range from clean-ups, education campaigns, environmental concerts, creative competitions and exhibitions to improving water quality, planting trees, minimising waste production and establishing recycling programs. An activity can engage a small village or a whole nation. Participants range from non-government organisations to community/family groups, religious groups, local governments and businesses and are primarily in developing countries. The campaign’s flagship event is Clean Up the World Weekend, held on the third weekend in September. In addition to uniting millions in global environmental action, the weekend serves as a celebration of participants’ year-round activities. By promoting their achievements internationally, Clean Up the World focuses public attention on global community concerns for the environment and how each individual can make a positive contribution to a cleaner and healthier world. Clean Up the World Weekend was celebrated on September 14- 16 in 116 countries, attracting 28,797 participating groups from 632 registered organisations and an estimated 27 million volunteers who delivered 224 activities. Organisational participation by region was: Africa 165; Asia Pacific 155; Europe 65; Latin America 208; North America 23; West Asia 16. Types of organisations involved were: businesses 15; community groups 122; educational institutions 95; government bodies 47; NGOs 232; other 121. Of these groups, 421 were new to the campaign in 2012, 174 renewed their participation from 2011 and 37 rejoined after an absence.
14 The Order No. 33, Winter 2013 OAA Foundation ceremony at Government House PICTURED RIGHT: Front: Adj Prof Brian O’Keeffe AO, Foundation Secretary; Mr Hugh Morgan AC, Foundation Chairman and scholarships donor; Mr Benjamin Knight, scholarship awardee; Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC CVO, Governor-General of Australia; His Excellency Mr Michael Bryce AM AE; Mr Aaron Moss, scholarship awardee; The Hon Shane Stone AC QC, Association President; Mrs Lesley Ann Benson; Mr Peter Benson OAM, donor. Middle: Mrs Tania Knight, Benjamin’s mother; Mr Peter Knight, his father; Mr Tony Moss, Aaron’s father; Mrs Karen Moss his mother; Assoc. Prof Elaine Murphy AM, Foundation Coordinator of Awardees & Mentors; AIRCDRE Peter McDermott AM CSC, Association Chairman. Back: Prof Michael Hamerston, Chairman, Foundation National Panel; Dr Alyssa Fitzpatrick (2009 scholarship awardee and 2012 Rhodes Scholar; Mr Darvell Hutchinson AM, Foundation Treasurer; Mr Nicholas Paspaley AC, Foundation Director and scholarship donor; Mr Ross Adler AC, Foundation Director, scholarship donor and mentor) Recently, the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC CVO, hosted an award ceremony for the two most recent recipients of an Order of Australia Association Foundation scholarship. Held at Government House, Canberra, the ceremony preceded the late-afternoon garden party held on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin, for participants in the annual conference of The Order of Australia Association. The drawing room in Government House hosted a small gathering of awardees, parents and the generous donors, Mr Peter Benson OAM and Mrs Benson, representing the Riddiford Trust, and representatives of The Order of Australia Association and Foundation. Benjamin Knight receives his OAA Foundatiion scholarship award from the Governor-General. Her Excellency was most generous in her comments of support for the awardees and the outstanding opportunities inherent in these awards. Also in attendance were two former award recipients of a Foundation scholarship — Dr Alyssa Fitzpatrick, of Adelaide, who is a recent Rhodes Scholar, for South Australia, and Ms Sara Farnbach, a former Canberra resident and graduate, who was home briefly from various nursing postings overseas with the World Health Organisation. The two new awardees are studying in the Arts/ Commerce/Law field — Aaron Moss, of Tasmania, at the University of Tasmania; and Benjamin Knight, formerly of Tasmania but now at Monash University, Victoria. Both are deeply involved in student politics. Benjamin Knight Benjamin, formerly from the Tasmanian Academy, Don College and Devonport High School, is studying for a Bachelor of Commerce/Laws at Monash University in Victoria. With an ATAR rank of 97.85 percentile he achieved Academic Excellence Awards for Economics, Geography and Accounting in Year 12 and a Monash Scholarship for Excellence and Equity. Keen to be an advocate for people’s rights, Benjamin is committed to becoming a barrister/solicitor. At school he began his community involvement and public liaison through fund-raising activities and by holding office in the Students’ Representative Council. Through Lions International he progressed to the state finals of Youth of the Year. In his Hall of Residence (Howitt) at Monash, Benjamin quickly assumed responsibilities as major events coordinator. In 2012 he became a resident adviser, a role well suited to his advocacy skills and outstanding academic achievements. He is now very active in student politics at local, state and national levels. As a member of the National Union of Students he provides strong and positive support for student issues. In 2013 he will represent Monash Student Association as education officer. This role will capitalise on and enhance his negotiating skills. Continued next page
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