Tuesday, 1 April 2025

Philip Sacca

Bronwyn HALFPENNY (Thomastown) (13:11): Congratulations to Philip Sacca, humanitarian, activist, mighty contributor to Australia and proud Palestinian Australian. I had the privilege of attending the Philip Sacca lifetime achievement ceremony on Saturday 29 March 2025. Philip was honoured for his humanitarian contributions over decades since migrating to Australia with his wife Begona.

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Nerrie Muslay, current president of the Beit Jala Palestinian Association, spoke of his work starting the organisation in the late 1980s to connect and support people who had migrated to Australia from the Palestinian city of Beit Jala and also to preserve culture and raise awareness of the Palestinian fight for justice. He was also the driving force behind a book of the history of Beit Jala and the association in Australia. We then heard from Moira Kelly about Philip’s advocacy to her to assist him in bringing ill children living in Gaza to Melbourne for life-saving and life-changing medical treatments. She spoke of her trips over years to Gaza with Philip and his impressive negotiating skills as well as his selfless work. The final speaker, Andrew Laidlaw, president of Global Gardens of Peace and also landscape architect at the botanical gardens, talked of Philip’s achievements in establishing the Global Gardens of Peace and the calming gardens that have been built both here in Melbourne at the Alfred hospital in the mental health ward and also the food forest at the Yooralla Ventilator Accommodation Support Service in Northcote.