I would like to congratulate Lake Macquarie's very own wildlife warrior Audrey Koosmen who was awarded the Order of Australia Medal in this year's Kings Birthday Honours, for her services to animal welfare. Audrey is a remarkable woman. She founded Hunter Wildlife Rescue almost 45 years ago and remains the not-for-profit organisation's President, she is also the current Chair of the NSW Wildlife Council. Audrey's empathy towards animals and passion for conservation began at a young age, when as a teenager she joined Greenpeace and the RSPCA. Indeed, it is fair to say that she has dedicated her life to the care of sick, orphaned and injured animals, often having to wake up every three hours at night to feed newborn native mammals and birds. The 76-year-old has turned her Blackalls Park home into a wildlife sanctuary of sorts, where she will care for a number of animals at anyone time. In 1994 Audrey and her team rescued more than 50 koalas, that had been burned in the terrible bushfires that raged throughout Newcastle and Port Stephens. Congratulation Audrey on this very well deserved accolade. Keep up the amazing work.