Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion moved by the member for Banks. Community organisations play an integral role in all of our electorates and deserve to be recognised for their ongoing commitment to the people they serve. The electorate of Hasluck has a comprehensive network of community organisations providing emergency relief, advice and support to the vulnerable people of our communities. More often than not, the people these organisations support are those on low incomes, those who have hit rock bottom, or those who find themselves in a difficult situation, in need of some immediate stop-gap assistance to get them back on track.

One cannot underestimate the dedication and the true humanity of those people across Hasluck who work in these organisations. They are literally at the coalface of the human experience. They are dealing with the acute and often desperate basic needs of fellow human beings. I would like to recognise the contribution of our many church organisations to the relief and support programs operating across Hasluck. I believe every denomination is actively involved in making a difference to their local community. The network of community groups operating across Hasluck includes groups providing assistance in the areas of food and emergency relief, accommodation and housing, legal advice and advocacy. I will start with the most basic of needs on Maslow's hierarchy and share with you some of the organisations handing out food to families in Hasluck.

There is a very strong connection with many of the churches across Hasluck in the provision of emergency food relief to families in need. Dorothy Grimshaw and Wendy Smith of Thornlie Anglican Hampers work tirelessly to provide food hampers to Thornlie families. There is the work of the Anglican Parish of Gosnells Welfare and Community Service and Audrey Shalley and the team. The Kenwick Real Life Church runs a weekly cafe and opportunity shop and has activities for children. This church also runs after-school activities—collecting children from different schools—and activities for preschoolers and the elderly. It is a community hub, a safe place for many to come and to be welcome.

Another organisation I have had a close association with is the Highways Cafe, run from the Gosnells Baptist Church. Patrick and Suzanne Gorgan run an extremely efficient and much-needed service in the area on Monday evenings. They can serve up to 290 families in one evening. Crossways Community Services operate pantries, op shops and computer workshops. For those of us to whom computers and computing are a way of life it is worth remembering that this is not the case for all members of our communities. With so much information, particularly government information, available only online, computer literacy is an important skill.

Communicare, Mission Australia, the Salvation Army and St Vincent De Paul all have extensive networks throughout my electorate of Hasluck. The support and care these groups give to those in our community—for whatever reason people find themselves in need of relief—is priceless.

I would like to mention in particular Ruah Tenancy Fast Track in Maddington, who assist the most vulnerable—those with a mental illness. Manager Tony Chorley provides outstanding assistance and support in a difficult area of assistance. So often we forget the needs of those who experience mental health problems.

Foundation Housing, Centrecare and Access Housing all provide long-term low-rent accommodation options to those on low and middle incomes. With public housing waiting lists up to seven years, this is an important adjunct to accommodation options for the people of Hasluck.

We have several wonderful organisations which provide legal and financial advocacy within Hasluck. They are the Gosnells Community Legal Centre; MIDLAS, the Midland Information Debt and Legal Advocacy Service Inc.; and the Foothills Information Referral Service, FIRS. I have met with staff at all three organisations and have seen firsthand the work they do on a day-to-day basis. I do not think we should underestimate the commitment of the staff of these organisations. It takes a special person to work with those in crisis on a day-to-day basis. Our communities owe the staff at Gosnells Community Legal Centre, MIDLAS and FIRS a debt of gratitude for the work they do and the way they reach out.

All these organisations deal with the pointy end of relief and support. Hasluck is lucky to have other organisations which provide essential relief, support and help to the elderly in their homes and to families who are getting by but need that extra bit of assistance to make it through the week. These groups include People Who Care. Based in Guildford, they provide home help, gardening and transport. Allan Yule and his team of amazing volunteers are assisting and enriching the lives of all those they help.

Social isolation is developing into a significant issue in many urban landscapes. We are all guilty of being too busy to look in on the older neighbour in the street. People Who Care and other organisations, such as the local government Home and Community Care organisations, provide much-needed social contact and engagement for many lonely and isolated people. The Gosnells Women's Health Service provides family and relationship counselling, parenting classes and events for both mothers and children. We owe so much to those who give willingly to others and who provide a point of support that enhances the humanity of compassion for both the giver and the recipient.

I am often amazed at the capacity of individuals who give of their time so freely in community organisations. When you consider the salary, that is not the factor that drives them, but rather it is their commitment to providing a level of support and intervening in a constructive way in the lives of ordinary Australians who live within their suburbs and communities. We underestimate the effectiveness of the work that they do. As we know, if we were to fund the real costs, governments would not be able to afford the work that is done by those who volunteer in community organisations.

I thank the member for Banks for giving us the opportunity to stand in this committee room and in this chamber to acknowledge the contribution that community organisations make to our way of life as a country. I spent some time recently with MIDLAS and in talking and meeting with individual staff I asked them what it was that drove them. Each of them made the point that what they wanted to do was to give back and help those who did not have the capacity, and in many cases the educational level, to be able to engage constructively with the organisations that make the difference to their daily lives, but also to have that strong advocacy role.

More recently I have become engaged with another organisation in Midland that is looking at the employment pathways and opportunities for those who do not complete their schooling. What they do is connect young people into pathways that engage them in lifelong learning and in the opportunity of being engaged in a workforce in a real and meaningful way.

I think too often we take for granted the work that community organisations and the non-profits do and make some assumptions. I certainly dedicate my time and commitment to the work that they do and will advocate very strongly so that they are able to enhance their capacity to reach those Australians that we know need levels of support and intervention in a way that enriches their lives. Because unless we do that, we lose the essence of the humanity that should always prevail within our societies. I would hope that each of us, as members of this parliament, engages with some rigour with the non-profit organisations that provide so much.

I want to conclude by saying to all of those, particularly in my electorate of Hasluck, but in all electorates, congratulations on the work that you do. Continue to give with the passion and the belief that you have and thank you for the difference that you have made for ordinary families, those members with mental health challenges, but particularly for those who engage in wanting to improve their lot in life whose circumstances do not enable them to do that. So to all of you, thank you deeply.

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