PORT Macquarie Hastings Citizen of the Year Geoff Leary has issued a stark warning about the growing scale of homelessness across the region, saying frontline volunteers are now feeding at least three times as many people as they were just a few years ago.
Leary, a retired school principal and tireless community volunteer, spoke with News Of The Area shortly after receiving the 2026 Citizen of the Year award on Monday, 26 January.
He described the recognition as humbling while shifting the focus firmly onto those doing unseen caring work every day.
“I’m absolutely delighted and humbled to receive this award,” he said.
“I would like to pay tribute to those people who are in a constant caring capacity that really get no sort of recognition, and yet they’re doing it every day.
“Some go into that position without any choice, they’re just placed in it and they do it just for work.
“It is a really serious dedication, which I think is such a wonderful thing to do.”
Through his volunteering with Make A Difference (MAD), St Vincent de Paul and Sister Marjorie’s team, Leary said he and other volunteers had witnessed a sharp rise in homelessness across the Port Macquarie-Hastings region.
“Look, without the data, this is just anecdotal,” he said.
“When I first started, about four years ago when I retired as a school principal, we were feeding possibly seven or eight people in town.
“We’re now feeding anywhere from 25-plus each time we have a breakfast or a dinner.
“Sometimes that can build to 35.
“I know the group at St Thomas’s can sometimes have up to 70 people.
“And they are all ages, and from all backgrounds.”
He said MAD volunteers now provide meals up to eight times a week, including breakfasts and dinners, supported by a growing number of young volunteers.
“We have a lot of young people coming in and helping out with the serving of breakfast.
“They’re great baristas,” he said.
Leary’s commitment to volunteering was shaped early in life through family hardship and compassion shown by his parents.
“I came up in a family that was very solid in volunteering and doing things for the local community,” he said.
“My mum received Australian Citizen of the Year in Cootamundra in 2000, and that was after 30 years of volunteering.”
Leary said his volunteering had reinforced the importance of empathy over judgment.
“Unfortunately, as a society, I think we’ve probably become stronger in judging people,” he said.
“I’ve really learned, more so in the last few years, that judging people puts you at a serious disadvantage.
“If you leave yourself open to at least try to listen to a person’s story, you’re much more likely to give that person some regard.
“But more importantly, it provides you with hope for that person.”
Other local 2026 Australia Day award recipients
Community Spirit Award: Danny Schouten
Danny was recognised for founding the Community Shark Bite Kits initiative, a volunteer-led project that has installed more than 320 lifesaving kits across NSW beaches, with further expansion backed by the State Government.
His work has strengthened coastal safety, emergency preparedness and community collaboration statewide.
Young Citizen of the Year: Hunter Davis
Hunter was honoured for representing Port Macquarie at state, national and international levels, including as a Youth MP and UN Youth delegate.
Locally, he volunteers across conservation, parish and major community events and was recently named a 2026 ABC Heywire Winner.
By Matt TAYLOR
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