Andrew Broad (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to address the Australian Parliament to talk about a visit that I made in my electorate last Thursday. One of the great things about being a regional member, as you would know, Mr Deputy Speaker Scott, is just how important rural communities are, but also how resilient they are and how they do things for themselves.

Last Thursday I was fortunate to catch up with an organisation called Woodbine. Their mission statement is:

To provide residential, skill development, employment and recreational services primarily for people with an intellectual disability in the Wimmera and adjoining regions.

This is a great organisation. One of the things I went to is a new residential care facility that they have built. They said to me at the time: 'We actually applied for federal funds. We missed out. It was going to cost $700,000, so we just damn well built it ourselves.' You have to admire that sense of community spirit. I caught up with Phil, a man there with a disability. He had a set of drums. He got on the drums and I got on guitar and we rocked on for a little while; it was just really good.

One of the things that has happened recently in the township of Warracknabeal is that Target chose to shut their shop. In a little country town it is good to be able to go somewhere and be able to buy some socks and jocks, a nightie if you are going into hospital. It became a big issue in Warracknabeal that Target were shutting. Not to be outdone, Woodbine decided: 'Well, blow it. We're going to grab it by the mantle and do something about it.' They talked to the local community and the local community said, 'Yes, we're on side'. They talked to the local menswear shops so that they did not compete with them, and Woodbine have opened a shop in Warracknabeal. They are employing people with intellectual disabilities. They are providing socks, jocks, clothes. They are actually turning a profit, which is fantastic. This is another example of what I see every day while travelling around my electorate—that is, when big business pulls out, communities say, 'Well, we're going to have to do it ourselves', and they get on with it and they do it. It just makes me so proud to be able to speak about them to the Australian Parliament.

So Woodbine: a great organisation, doing a great deal of work, often not supported but certainly should be morally supported and acknowledged for their contribution to Australian society and particularly to the township of Warracknabeal.

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