Kochies Idols

Just before ANZAC Day I met one hell of an inspirational couple. Keith Payne is a great Australian supported by an equally great Australian in his wife Flo.

Keith is our oldest living Victoria Cross recipient and a true ANZAC hero.

Joining up at the age of 19, Keith fought in Korea then Malaya before becoming a Sergeant-Major and serving in PNG.

In May 1969, during the Vietnam War, Keith was commander of the 1st Mobile Strike Force Battalion near the town Ben Het in Vietnam. Keith’s unit was outnumbered and attacked by the North Vietnamese in a battle which lasted for days. Wounded in the attack and under the cover of darkness, Keith went out and rescued 40 injured or isolated mates and guided them to safety. All this while the battle was still being waged.

It’s a remarkable story of heroism, the Anzac spirit and mateship.

Youth Off the Streets

Father Chris Riley is a remarkable Australian and founder of Youth Off The Streets … an organization dedicated to helping young Australians in trouble.

Libby and I have become very involved in the organization on a number of different levels. For Libby it’s a way to channel her amazing talents as nurturer and mother to other kids who really need some love and attention. She is a YOTS ambassador and a director of the Overseas Relief Fund.

For me it’s a matter of supporting a great Australian and helping kids who have been dealt a tough hand. I believe everyone is a product of their family upbringing, it stays with them for life. There are a whole bunch of kids which have had horrific upbringings which will affect their entire life and often lead them astray.

My Dad, Dean, was a big guy… both physically and in presence.

6’3” (185cm) tall, he was an Aussie Rules ruckman, but when he walked in to a room he seemed to fill it… he commanded it. Always happy, always a word to everyone, an infectious personality… he had a real presence.

To a son he was always larger than life. A Dad all your friends loved to hang out with. But the thing which will stick with me forever was how he always seemed to have time for me, and my brother and sister.

Time. In today’s modern society nobody seems to have enough of it. It’s the bane of our lives.