Media Release by Senator the Hon Kay Patterson

Prime Minister’s Partnership rewards students for their business views

University students from around Australia were today awarded prizes for their entries in an essay competition on business and social responsibility.

The Minister for Family and Community Services, Senator Kay Patterson, took the opportunity, during National Youth Week, to present the prizes to the winners of the university section of the 2004 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Essay Competition.

Rachel Kay from The University of Sydney was awarded the first prize of $2 000 for herself and $3 000 for her university. Commendation Awards were presented to Katherine Healey (The University of Melbourne), Donna Lorenz (Monash University) and Jean-Marc Kutschukian (The University of Sydney), who each received $350.

Encouragement Awards went to Jennifer McIntyre (The University of New South Wales) and Lauren Danastas (Central Queensland University).

This annual competition is an initiative of the Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership, of which Senator Patterson is the deputy chair.

“The essay competition encourages Australian students to think about the impact of business on society and how corporate social responsibility can benefit communities and businesses alike,” Senator Patterson said.

“The essays we received show that the current generation of students care about the way businesses operate in their communities.

“Around 400 entries were received for the 2004 competition, and just over
$12 000 in prize money was distributed to winners and their schools or universities,” Senator Patterson said.

At the event, Senator Patterson also announced that from this year both the secondary and university sections of the CSR Essay Competition would be run together and entries were now being accepted for the 2005 competition. Winners of the 2004 Secondary Competition were announced in July last year.

Entries close on 5 August 2005 and winners will be announced in late 2005. More information is available by calling the Partnership’s hotline on 1800 359 918 or visiting the website