Leonie Cutts and Craig Browne

Mr GREG PIPER (Lake Macquarie)—I'd like to recognise the amazing efforts of Leonie Cutts and Craig Browne from Martinsville who have quite literally brought the spirit of Christmas to those in need for more than 20 years. When Leonie and Craig first moved to Lake Macquarie in 2000, they decided they wanted to support their new community in some way and approached Burnside Homes, now called Uniting, offering to help however they could. Burnside Homes said they needed four Christmas hampers for some local families who had fallen on hard times, so Leonie and Craig took on the task. Since then, their Christmas hamper effort has grown exponentially and over the recent Christmas period, Leonie and Craig put together 101 hampers for Uniting along with $740 in shopping vouchers. Assembling the hampers has become such an undertaking that Leonie and Craig have enlisted the help of friends and family, hosting an annual 'Spirit of Christmas' event where hundreds of people visit their property to drop off donations and pack hampers. I thank Leonie and Craig for the years of effort and expense they've dedicated to spreading Christmas cheer in the Lake Macquarie community.