Dear Team,
May has been a marvellous month with many significant events punctuating the normally impactful operating rhythm of St John NSW.
We launched and celebrated our Reconciliation Action Plan, and recognised and acknowledged the amazing impact of our 3,000+ volunteers and youth members during National Volunteers Week. We also invested and promoted new members into The Order of St John at last week’s annual Investiture Ceremony at Government House and celebrated their service in style at the Priory Dinner hosting the Secretary of the Department of Health, Susan Pearce AM, Dr Hugh McDermott MP, the Hon Natasha MacLaren-Jones, MLC and Chancellor Cameron Oxley GCStJ. Importantly we concurrently responded to the severe weather event and subsequent flooding across the Mid North Coast of NSW, officially opened our new Macquarie Park Cadet Division, and launched our 2024 Impact Report. Not a bad month of work!
When requested by the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC), St John NSW rapidly mobilised medical teams to support NSW Health and the Department of Communities & Justice directly to the flood affected areas. Over six days, our 24 dedicated volunteers contributed 966 hours of service across seven locations treating 92 patients. An additional 12 members supported incident operations, standing up our Incident Management Team (IMT) from the State Operations Centre. In the severely flood impacted town of Harrington—where communities were completely cut off by floodwaters—our teams were deployed via helicopter, going door-to-door to deliver primary health care and mental health support. This demonstrates the breadth of St John’s excellence and capabilities: from rapid deployment to personalised clinical care in crisis zones, we are always there when needed most. We respond.
Rosa Taylor epitomised the commitment of St John volunteers and staff. When I called to thank her and wish her a happy 40th Birthday, she simply said “thank you for letting me serve St John”.
Amid this critical work, we were honoured by the Minister for Emergency Services, The Hon Jihad Dib MP, who publicly acknowledged our role alongside NSW SES and NSW Ambulance in the flood response efforts. Dr Hugh McDermott MP, Co-Chair of the St John Ambulance NSW Parliamentary Friends, also gave a Private Members Statement in Parliament recognising our efforts in support of the communities affected by flooding. St John IS the Medical Reserve.
I was invited to a meeting with The Hon Ryan Park MP, Minister for Health for further discussions regarding our funding request. We tabled our message for funding to sustain our emergency response whilst also tabling the need to be included as an ESO in the State Emergency and Rescue Management (SERM) Act to ensure our volunteers received the same protection as other volunteer response agencies. We also requested the Minister direct St John NSW be a standing member of the Local Emergency Management Committee (LEMC).
Congratulations to all those very worthy members who were formally invested or promoted in The Order of St John – a well-deserved recognition of outstanding service.
We celebrated the official opening of Macquarie Park Cadet Division on Monday 19 May, a significant new chapter for St John NSW, bringing together cadets, their families, and supporters. The event was attended by proud cadet parents, who gathered to witness the formal launch of the division and show their encouragement for the young members embarking on or continuing their St John journey. Cadets stood tall in their greens, representing the spirit and excellence of St John NSW, and service to the community. Special thanks go to Divisional Superintendent Simone Cravero and Eric Figueredo for their leadership in bringing the division to life, as well as to Hub Leader James French and David Czerkies OAM for their valued support and contributions to the occasion. CEO Dominic Teakle presented a foundation plaque to the Division.
Thank you for your service.
Dom
