The Hon Andrew Leigh MP
Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury
Member for Fenner
Melinda Tynan and Cameron Myers
Constituency Statement
Federation Chamber,
Parliament House, Canberra
Thursday, 13 August 2026
I rise today to recognise two outstanding constituents of Fenner.
Melinda Tynan is retiring after decades of public service. Melinda began her career in the New South Wales police force, where she worked directly with people experiencing domestic violence. She was the chief instigator of the first Australasian Women in Policing Conference, held in Sydney in 1996, which helped lead to the creation of the Australasian Council of Women and Policing. The council was incorporated in 1997; Melinda was a founding member and its secretary. In 1998 the ACT Attorney-General appointed her domestic violence project coordinator and an ex-officio member of the ACT Domestic Violence Prevention Council.
Her 2000 thesis, 'Fatal flaws', examined the policing of violence against women in Australia. She later brought that expertise into the Australian Public Service, working on women's safety and responses to trafficking, forced marriage and family violence. Her daughter, Ophelia, tells me that Melinda was also among the key advisers who helped develop Australia's first National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children. Ophelia described her mother to me as a giant in the field and said she was an extremely proud daughter. After a career spent making women and children safer, Melinda has given her plenty to be proud of.
I congratulate another constituent, Cameron Myers, on winning silver in the men's mile at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Cam ran three minutes, 55 seconds, finishing behind Scotland's Josh Kerr in the event's return to the Commonwealth Games program after 60 years. At just 20, Cam has already built an extraordinary record. He began at Belconnen Little Athletics aged six. At 16 he became the second-youngest person ever to break four minutes for the mile.
In 2024, he won world under-20 silver over 1,500 metres. He's a two-time Australian 1,500 metres champion. This year Cam has run faster still. He set an Australian indoor record for the 3,000 metres, then ran an Australian 1,500 metres record of three minutes, 28 seconds in Paris. A week later he won the Bowerman Mile in Eugene in three minutes, 46 seconds, breaking the Australian and Oceania records.
Cam is as modest in person as he is quick on the track. He's coached by my friend Dick Telford, the Australian Institute of Sport's inaugural sports scientist, a pioneering researcher and a generous coach. Cam joined Dick's squad full time as a teenager and the results since have been remarkable. Congratulations to Cam on his medal and his records and to Dick Telford for another successful chapter in a long Canberra career.
Ends