SYDNEY: The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) presented the Armenian Community's Friend of the Year Award to New South Wales Member for Prospect, Dr. Hugh McDermott MP for his ongoing promotion of issues of importance to Armenian-Australians.
In October 2020, Dr. McDermott championed a successful motion in the largest legislative chamber of Australia's largest state, the NSW Legislative Assembly, condemning Azerbaijan's provocative attacks against Armenia's border and calling on the Federal Government of Australia to join it in recognising the Republic of Artsakh.
The high-profile member of the NSW Armenia-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group was an inaugural member of the Australian Friends of Artsakh network and a Baku-blacklisted visitor to Artsakh as part of the first Federal-led delegation in 2019.
Dr. McDermott is a steadfast supporter of the Armenian-Australian community, who values the preservation of the rights to self-determination of the people of the Republic of Artsakh as a priority, as typified in his acceptance speech which articulated "Artsakh is Armenian, it has been Armenian since time began".
ANC-AU Executive Director Haig Kayserian thanked McDermott for his friendship to the Armenian-Australian community.
“Dr. McDermott is an honorary Armenian who fights the good fight in the name of human rights and justice because he believes in the truth and what is right," said ANC-AU Executive Director, Haig Kayserian.
Dr. McDermott's acceptance speech can be viewed by clicking here or watching below.
Past recipients of the ANC-AU Armenian-Australian Community’s Friend of the Year award include Joe Hockey, Joel Fitzgibbon, Tim Wilson, Trent Zimmerman, Bob Carr, John Alexander, Gladys Berejiklian, Phillip Adams, Jonathan O’Dea, Walt Secord, Paul Fletcher, Michael Atkinson and the late Professor Colin Tatz, among others.
