Tony Pang knows how hard it is to adapt to life in a new country, so for more than three decades he has been helping others find their feet.
The former accountant and public servant, and passionate community worker received the Lifetime Community Service Medal at the NSW Premier's Harmony dinner on March 15.
Born and raised in Singapore, Tony came to Australia to study in the early 1960s, moving here permanently in the early 1970s.
Initially, life in Australia was hard for Tony. He had difficulty understanding the accent and encountered discrimination while working in various jobs to support himself through university.
In the 1980s he witnessed a fight between a group of Asian youths and another group of youths in Turramurra. Local police decided to only charge members of the Asian group. The charges were dropped after extensive community lobbying, but the experience inspired Tony to do as much as he could to help multicultural communities assimilate.
He has served with numerous multicultural organisations, including the Chinese Australian Forum, Chinese Australian Services Society (CASS) and the Department of Justice's Multicultural Council.
From 2010-2012 he served as Commissioner of the Community Relations Commission (now known as Multicultural NSW). In 2013, he appeared before the NSW Upper House during its inquiry into racial vilification laws. He was also a vocal Yes campaigner for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
Other organisations Tony has been involved with include the Hornsby/Central Coast Regional Advisory Council, NSW Bar Association, NSW Cemetery and Crematoria and Ku-ring-gai and Hornsby Meals on Wheels.
He has served as a Board Member of Northside Radio FM 99.3FM since 2013 and hosts the station's Asian Jazz program on Sunday evenings.
Tony said he was inspired to serve the community by his Chinese born father Hee Boon and his father in law Tommy Wah, who is also of Chinese ancestry.
His father would regularly allow other migrants to stay in his home in Singapore until they found jobs, and would allow other members of the village to access his water supply.
Wah enlisted for military service and fought against the Japanese in World War II, despite encountering discrimination after marrying an Anglo Saxon woman and settling in Wagga Wagga.
Currently, Tony is involved in a NSW Department of Foreign Affairs campaign to inform Chinese born communities about Australia's three levels of government. There are plans to extend the program to other states and cultural groups.
He has also been actively involved in the planning of a new multicultural aged care centre which will be opened by CASScare in Asquith.
"I know how hard it is for people to travel to a new country.... Not knowing the rules, what to do, the language barrier," he said.
"No matter where you come from, it takes a while to get used to the system there."
