JANUARY 28, 2020 \ STARWEEKLY.COM.AU
NEWS + SPORT + PROPERTY GUIDE
Honours for our finest Sunbury’s Vicki Key has been appointed an officer of the Order of Australia in this year’s Australia Day Honours list. Ms Key, 64, was recognised for her dedication in the police force and her work in supporting retired police officers. She said she was both honoured and proud to receive the Order of Australia medal. “To be receiving it on Australia Day certainly wasn’t something that I was expecting but it is certainly nice to be acknowledged for the work,” she said. Ms Key joined the police force in the 1980’s, dedicated nearly 24 years of her life to serving and protecting the community. She said becoming a police officer was always a dream of hers.
JAMES LINDSAY
Pilot recognised for dedication
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My best days were always taking an offender to court - Vicki Key
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“I always wanted to join,” she said. “I was a quarter of an inch too short. Then they abolished the height restrictions so I thought this was my chance. “I always worked out of the north western suburbs. I worked at Broadmeadows or Fawkner. Coburg was my first police station.” Throughout her career, Ms Key was a serving officer, constable and senior constable and sergeant before her last role as the acting officer in charge at the Moonee Ponds police station. Ms Key spent the majority of her career investigating sexual assault against children and adults and physical assault against children. “I always wanted to be working with people who had a very limited voice back then,” she said. “Reporting sexual assault was still a very hidden taboo subject, so was family violence. “I thought this was an area I could do some really good work. My best days were always taking the offender to court and having a win at trial.” Ms Key retired in 2010 but she knew her work wasn’t yet done. In 2012, she founded the Retired Police Peer Support Office Program which assists retired uniformed members who may be experiencing difficulties with their mental heath. “I became aware that there were a lot of suicides among former police and current police,” Ms Key said. “I thought I could get a group of former
(Marco De Luca) 203441_01
By Jessica Micallef
Vicki Key has been recognised for her dedication to the police force. (Damjan Janevski) 203439_01
police who have all done their peer support course and see what we could do as former police. “We ended up training about 62 retired police to be retired peer support officers and that was across the whole state. “By the end of 2018 we supported in excess
of 800 former police.” Ms Key said the support program was the “greatest achievement” of her career and post career. “It’s now been moved into a not-for-profit charitable status and they’ve appointed a chief executive and a co-ordinator,” she said. “It’s really grown. It’s a huge achievement.”
Gisborne’s James Lindsay has been recognised for his dedication to local volunteering and his work as a pilot. Mr Lindsay has been appointed an officer of the Order of Australia in this year’s Australia Day Honours List. Mr Lindsay, 80, said although it was humbling to receive the Order of Australia medal, he said he wouldn’t have achieved the honour without the support from family and friends. “I’m a small cog in a big system,” he said. “It’s not me individually. It’s the … people that I have been working with over the years.” Mr Lindsay spent 10 years between 1989 and 1999 as a pilot with Emirates after spending time in the air force. “I didn’t have any other qualifications so I joined the air force and they taught me to fly,” he said. “I had six years in the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) and then I went to Papua New Guinea with Missionary Aviation. “My time finished up there and I came back and joined TAA (Trans Australia Airlines). “In 1989, there was a rather serious industrial ructions which I found myself in the Middle East. I had 10 years in Dubai … and I came home in 1999. “I loved the job, I love flying. I loved working with people.” Closer to home, Mr Lindsay was elected as a councillor in 1979 to the Gisborne Shire council where he remained until 1982. My Lindsay was on the Board of Governors for Braemar College in Woodend. He was also involved with the 1st Gisborne Scouts and has spent time volunteering at Macedon Ranges Health. Jessica Micallef
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