A group of dedicated and inspiring locals have been recognised in this year’s Australia Day honours list for their years of incredible service.
From cutting edge research in the renewable energy sector, to working with youth, to helping those living on the fringes of our society, those recognised have made a profound and varied contribution over decades of service.
Among those honoured was Byron Shire local Dr Arne Rubenstein, who has run Rites of Passage work with young people in the region for 30 years and has now expanded the work to locations across Australia and beyond.
He was awarded an OAM in the General Division for his services to youth, much of which is undertaken through the organisation he founded, the Rites of Passage Institute (ritesofpassageinstitute.org).
‘My truth is that I’m very happy about it, and at the same time I wish my mother was around to see it,’ Mr Rubenstein told The Echo.
‘She would just have been so proud.’
The former Byron Hospital emergency doctor said that Rites of Passage work was about recognising that all people have major transition points in their lives and that one of the most important was when a child becomes an adult.
‘We need to be celebrating, recognising and supporting that transition point in young people’s lives,’ he said.
‘If not, young people will create their own, like Schoolies Week. As an emergency doctor I saw the consequences of that first hand.
‘The other risk is that they will just remain in the mindset of a child, and then end up in positions of leadership…maybe even leading the country.’
‘The young people who I see coming through Rites of Passage are more open, they have better communication skills and a greater sense of purpose and what they want to do in life.
‘They’re also better able to acknowledge where they’re struggling and to seek support from appropriate people.’
Also recognised in the Australia Day honours list was Rhonda Ansiewicz, who was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia for her significant service to the community, particularly through her work with social welfare groups.
This includes years of dedicated service at the Winsome and Lismore Soup kitchen, the Bangalow CWA and numerous board memberships, including being a committee member at Eureka Public Hall and the Mullumbimby Neighbourhood centre.
Prior to her work in the Northern Rivers, Ms Ansiewicz made an extraordinary contribution over many years with Amnesty International, working as the Campaign Coordinator for the NSW Branch, and co-founding a service for the rehabilitation of torture and trauma survivors.
‘I was shocked at receiving this award,’ Ms Ansiewicz told The Echo.
‘I’ve never thought anything I have done was extraordinary.
‘I’ve accepted the award to honour the people I have worked with, in the main people on the margins of society. I received more from them than I gave.’
Another local to be recognised was Kinvara resident Dr Muriel Watt who has been at the forefront of work in the photovoltaic and renewable energy sector. She was appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia.
Ms Watt has been internationally recognised for her expertise in solar and energy policy.
She has worked with government agencies, universities and industry in the areas of renewable energy development, policy and application since 1980.
A full list of those recognised with Australia Day honours can be seen here.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
