Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Last December I had the honour of joining Laurie Maher from Coast Shelter to launch the Marie Lowndes Charitable Foundation. The foundation has been established, following a generous anonymous donation, as a memorial to acknowledge Marie Lowndes's contribution to the Central Coast community. Marie Lowndes was a director of nursing at Gosford Hospital, a staunch feminist and a leader in nursing education. The foundation will fund a new, coordinated, preventative and responsive program to address domestic violence on the Central Coast.

Coast Shelter is a major provider of crisis accommodation and services on the Central Coast. The foundation will form an umbrella overarching the domestic violence services Coast Shelter currently provides. Domestic violence is an ongoing concern in Dobell and on the Central Coast. The work undertaken through the Marie Lowndes Charitable Foundation—running women and children's refuges and temporary accommodation services, as well as providing education programs and other services—is making a real contribution to improving the lives of women and children on the Central Coast. The foundation is committed to providing practical support to victims of domestic violence, including operating a 12-seater bus to transport women to and from support groups. I commend Coast Shelter for establishing the Marie Lowndes Charitable Foundation and wholeheartedly support their outstanding work on behalf of victims of domestic violence.

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