BUSINESS
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I’M GOING NOWHERE
PENRITH’S TOP EXPERTS
STARTS ON PAGE 37
story on page 72
HOT TIPS FOR YOUR BUSINESS
DEDICATED TO OLDER LOCALS
GOULD RE-SIGNS WITH PENRITH
JANUARY 31 2014 ISSUE 1138
PROUDLY INDEPENDENT CIRCULATION: 59,400
THE HEARTBEAT OF PENRITH
TRAFFIC RELIEF Work on the Leonay Parade intersection with the M4 Motorway is set to begin in the next few weeks after approval for the upgrade was granted by the State Government. The $2 million project is tipped to reduce delays and alleviate safety concerns at one of the Penrith region’s most known traffic trouble spots. Some locals, however, have expressed concerns.
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ROBBO’S PLAN St Marys resident Harold Hunt is an inspiration to many, and was honoured on Australia Day. Photo: Melinda Jane.
Worthy recognition
Exclusive with the Opposition Leader
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St Marys man turned his demons into positive lessons
H
CASSANDRA O CONNOR
e started life as a stockman and shearer but Harold Hunt has now become one of the country’s leading alcoholism experts – and he speaks with experience. The St Marys resident was this week awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to Indigenous communities in NSW, but the reach of his work has been far and wide. “I grew up in far western NSW and stopped school as soon as I knew how to read, write and do maths because I was going to be a stockman and those were
the only basic skills you needed,” he said. However, alcohol became a problem for him and in the late 1960’s he sought rehabilitation. It was a tough road but there was a silver lining to his alcoholism. “In the 1970’s the government started a program where they got half a dozen of us former alcoholics and trained us up to be counsellors,” he said. “Th is became my goal, to help advise on alcoholism issues.” From 1974 to 1976 Mr Hunt served as an alcoholism counsellor at Redfern House Community Health Centre, followed by other counselling appointments. He later became a Member of the Aboriginal Advisory Council and taught at various NSW
universities about Aboriginal history, alcoholism and cross cultural communication. Most recently, he is working with university experts to develop a 12 step treatment of alcoholism for rehabilitation workers. “Th is will be my best achievement but we are having trouble getting the project off the ground,” he said. Mr Hunt said he hopes to continue working on alcoholism related issues for many more years to come, provided there are ears willing to listen. “If someone gave me a team, all these issues with alcohol and talk of rising prices, we could fi x. An alcoholic will buy alcohol no matter what the price, you need to help them realise there is a problem.”
GIRLS FIRE UP
Teacher by day, fire fighter by night PAGE 18
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