NSW:Rein wins medal in father's honour

AAP General News (Australia)
12-10-2010
NSW:Rein wins medal in father's honour

SYDNEY, Dec 10 AAP - Australia's former first lady held back tears as she accepted
the nation's most prestigious human rights medal, and dedicated it to her disabled father
and his "lion's heart".

Therese Rein - a businesswoman, mum of three and wife to former prime minister Kevin
Rudd - was awarded the 2010 Human Rights Medal in Sydney on Friday.

Ms Rein accepted the award at the annual Human Rights Medals and Awards ceremony via video link.

She dedicated it to her father, who as a pilot in WWII was involved in a plane crash
and suffered a spinal injury which left him in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

"He was a man with a physical disability but a lion's heart," she said in her acceptance speech.

"My dad passed away a number of years ago now. But for me, he is still really with me."

Ms Rein is the founder of Ingeus, which provides back-to-work, health and well-being
services to people who need it, including people with a disability and people with health
conditions.

Ms Rein's son Nicholas, 24, accepted the award on her behalf and branded himself proud
to be a "mummy's boy".

"For me my heart has always been captured by my Mum. Yes, I'm a mummy's boy but I'm
very proud of her for what she's achieved but maybe more importantly for the reasons that
have motivated her," he told the gathering.

"I know she's deeply honoured but I'm also just a little bit proud of her too," he said.

In her speech, Ms Rein also drew attention to new standards for liveable housing which
had been developed by the property industry, which mean housing will be built with people
with disabilities and older people in the community in mind.

"I think that's a major breakthrough," she said.

Jack Manning Bancroft, 25 - CEO of the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME)
- took home the Young People's Human Rights Medal.

"The challenge for everyone here is to start thinking of indigenous Australia and moving
away from seeing it as an obligation to an opportunity," he said.

"If we want to stand on the world's stage we need to see this nation as a rich nation
beyond 200 years of history to one of 60,000 years of history that we can all share in."

The young winner also proudly stated that AIME was now working with 1000 children across
the east coast of Australia and the organisation aimed to have indigenous children finish
school at the same rate as "every Australian kid and this can happen by 2020".

"Our mission is to be working with 6000 kids a year by 2020 and see every one of those
kids finish school at the same rate as every Australian kid," he said.

AAP dmg/tr/jnb

KEYWORD: REIN WRAP

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