I had the honour of attending the 11th annual Time For Remembering service  in Queen’s Hall on Sunday, 20  November.  This multifaith service, organised by Road Trauma Support Services and led by the  Reverend Andy Calder,  was a special  opportunity for families and  friends to remember  loved ones lost and an opportunity  to give thanks to the people at the  front line of responding  to road  trauma and  striving to  reduce the road toll, such  as our emergency services and health-care professionals.

It was a powerful and emotional  service, and  that was  particularly so when we heard  the personal perspectives of Coral Robertson, who talked about losing her son Nathan, and  Carmel  O’Brien, who suffered permanent injuries as a result of being a pedestrian victim of road trauma. Both spoke movingly and beautifully.

Families placed photos of their loved ones at the front of the room,  and at the end  of the  service members  of the audience lit candles in remembrance. As the candles were being lit Jeanette  Suhr read out the names of many people who have died on  our roads.  She concluded  with the  name of  her daughter, Tanya Suhr. Tanya was a friend and classmate of mine at  Mount Lilydale  Mercy College.  She lost  her life  in December  1990, during  the fun and optimistic days of summer following the completion of our year 12 when we all had the world at our feet. I fondly remembered Tanya during this service.

I  want  to  take  this  opportunity  to  thank everyone at Road Trauma  Support Services  involved  in  the  organisation   of  this  event.   More  broadly,  I congratulate and thank them for the vital work they do in providing counselling, education and support services for our community. The work they do is absolutely essential, particularly  given the recent tragedies on our roads involving young people.