WE live in a great country, of that there is little doubt.
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And as we take time out to celebrate Australia Day, it’s only natural we reflect on what makes it so great. We only have to look around our local community to appreciate probably the most important part of our national character – the notion of the fair go.
There is no shortage of people among whom we live who take that fair go idea and translate it into work for those less fortunate than themselves, be they veterans, the poor or the marginalised. We saw this firsthand at the Register just before Christmas when we reported one of the lunches traditionally held for those with nowhere to go was in dire need of volunteers. Our phones ran hot with locals offering to lend a hand. This was the fair go at work in a very practical sense.
Whenever there is a natural disaster, either here or abroad, locals are quick to help out – with donations, fund-raising events or material goods. We saw it when farmers out west were ravaged by drought last year and locals organised trucks of feed to get them over the worst of it. We saw it just last week, when a Tapitallee family lost their home to fire and locals came to their aid with offers of household goods to replace possessions destroyed in the blaze.
In fact, we see this generous spirit at work day in, day out in our region.
Yes, we accomplish much on the sporting field and in the fields of science and artistic endeavour, which also should be celebrated. But that one defining national instinct to help out in a crisis, to ensure all of our people have a fair go, should be what defines us above all else.