Hall of Fame
COMMUNITY STAR AWARD 2008 - Dr Alison Bleaney
A General Practitioner at St Helens in the the far North East of Tasmania for two decades. Alison is widely regarded as an extraordinarily hard working, competent and caring family doctor. She has had a long-held concern about the safety of the town's water supply. She became suspicious of the water quality following an observed increase in cancers and other diseases over the time of her practice in the area.
Dr Bleaney's observations matched those of oyster farmers in the area They had noted a deterioration in oyster health. This led her to undertake extensive research and community auditing to try and find an explanation. Dr Bleaney has used her own time and money to undertake water testing and to garner the help of interstate and overseas scientific expertise.
COMMUNITY STAR AWARD 2007 - Dr David Leaman
A Tasmanian geohydrologist. Dr Leaman has undertaken extensive research to investigate the implications of broadacre plantation establishment in water catchment areas. His research has demonstrated that the conversion of mixed wet native forests to rapidly growing, monoculture plantations has a dramatic and deleterious effect on water yields. He has made his findings available to the public through many presentations and has sought to warn the statutory authorities of the consequences of this practice. He has given his time freely to assist community audits in this matter.
2007 Future Tasmania Citizenship Award Winner
This award recognises the long-term contribution of an outstanding Tasmanian in the areas of social, cultural and environmental activism, innovation, advocacy or leadership.
The inagural recipient of the Future Tasmania Citizenship Award, presented at the Launceston Conference in recognition of her commitment to the health of the St. Helen’s community was Dr. Alison Bleaney.
For two decades Dr. Bleaney has been not only a busy, popular and committed GP to the St Helens community, but also a strong and exceptionally hard-working advocate for a safe and pollutant-free water supply for the township.
Dr. Bleaney has spent countless hours studying toxicology and involving herself in audits and research into her community’s water quality. Her efforts have been essentially self-funded.
She has often been misunderstood by her detractors and unfairly criticised, but her belief that the community deserves the peace of mind of knowing they have safe water has left her undaunted.
