PM's National Partnership Awards

The national winners of the 2004 Prime Minister’s Partnership Awards were finally announced at a gala event in Brisbane recently – after the Federal Election campaign delayed them late last year.

The five National winners in the 2004 Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Community Business Partnership involve a range of industry sectors and have tackled a variety of challenges facing the Australian community.

The partnerships involve assisting youth at risk, building community capacity, raising awareness and support for health issues and working to alleviate poverty among children and families.

The business category winners were drawn from a shortlist of ten national finalists announced by the Minister for Family and Community Services in August 2004.
The 2004 National Winners in the Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership are:

Small Business
The Small Business Award was won by a Queensland based partnership between Bayside Recruitment and BABI Youth and Family Support, who provide care, guidance and support for homeless or at risk youths in the Wynnum/Redlands area of Brisbane

Medium Business
A South Australian based partnership between Burns for Blinds and Youth Opportunities Association, who worked with young people from areas with low socio-economic demographics to help them gain skills, confidence and motivation through education won the Medium Business Award.

Large Business
The Large Business Award was presented to Woolworths, the Fred Hollows Foundation and the Wugularr Community for establishing the Community Stores Program in the Northern Territory to improve the management of local stores, encourage the employment of Indigenous staff in remote communities, and improve financial literacy.

Special Awards
Impact on a Community

Mallesons Stephen Jaques won the Special Award for Impact on a Community in recognition of its multi-faceted national program aimed at alleviating poverty and improving community welfare, and helping to protect children and young people at risk through provision of free legal services, staff volunteering and workplace giving.

Longevity
The special award for Longevity was won by a partnership between Avon Products Pty Ltd, the Australian New Zealand Breast Cancer Trials Group and YWCA Encore Program, for facilitating increased research, awareness, education and information about breast cancer since 1996. This partnership has made a real difference for women with its focus on reducing the incidence of breast cancer and supporting women who have had breast cancer surgery.

Senator Patterson, who presented the awards on behalf of the Prime Minister says the award winners underline the significant social benefits achieved when business joins hands with community organisations to make their community a better place.

Each winning partnership received $10,000 towards the extension of their community projects.

During the award ceremony, Senator Patterson also announced the PM’s Partnership is expanding to sponsor relevant awards in industry programs. As the first of these, the Partnership will sponsor a Community Spirit Award in the National Retail Association’s Rewards for Excellence Program.

The three-year sponsorship worth almost $50,000 will encourage industry to consider community capacity building through partnerships.