Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Hansard source

I'm delighted to rise in support of the member for Fisher's motion. Applications for the Stronger Communities Program closed last Thursday. I'm pleased to be able to announce that one of the organisations that submitted an application has already had their grant approved. The Kersbrook Men's Shed is currently being built and, through the Stronger Communities Program, they will receive $10,000 to help with the tools in their shed. I've spoken in this chamber previously about my strong support for men's sheds and the benefit they already provide to our community. Kersbrook is a town nestled in the Adelaide Hills with a population of just over 1,000 and a median age of 45. It's one of the oldest communities in the Adelaide Hills and suffered quite badly in the Sampson Flat fires. A men's shed in a town like Kersbrook functions as a community hub. Not only does it provide service to the older members in our community but it also creates avenues for younger men in the community to come together and share in bonds of support and mateship. I'm thrilled that the Kersbrook men's shed has had their grant application approved and I can't wait to visit the shed once construction is complete.

This round of the Stronger Communities Program operated a little differently than previous rounds. It's required MPs to invite applicants to attend. I want to say now that I thoroughly enjoyed this process. It allowed me to read over 50 applications that were sent to my office from organisations throughout Mayo. I can say with all honesty, hand on heart, that every application was deserving of funding. The Mayo Community Consultation Committee consisted of myself and representatives from all of the local councils in the electorate. The committee was tasked with the challenge of whittling the applications down to just 20. I would like to thank the committee for giving up their time to come together. The homework that they did after hours to ensure that they had thorough knowledge of all of the applications was just tremendous. Some of the selected applications included football and netball clubs seeking to upgrade their facilities and others included local town halls looking to improve their heating and cooling or to install an entertainment system so they could host movie nights for their local community. All are incredibly worthwhile causes and I wish them all the best of luck with the final application process.

The Stronger Communities Program is a genuine initiative that benefits local communities Australia-wide. A strong community is the lifeblood of the Australian way of life. My electorate of Mayo is unique in that it consists of dozens of small, tightly knit communities rather than one major population centre. We have a high rate of volunteering, which will ensure that that $150,000 builds so much more. Each of our communities is different in so many ways. Whether it be the German heritage of towns like Hahndorf or Lobethal, the surfing towns of Middleton and Port Elliot, or my hometown of Birdwood, where car aficionados come to visit the National Motor Museum, each of our communities has an identity that brings people together. There is no doubt that the residents of Mayo understand the true value of a tightly knit community, which is why the Stronger Communities Program is so important to our electorate.

I would like to take the opportunity to applaud the government for this initiative and I would encourage them to announce further rounds of this program—and certainly, a little bit more than $150,000 for an electorate, particularly for one as large as Mayo, would be very welcome. In closing, I hope that all of the other applicants from Mayo are successful—and, indeed, all those across Australia—and I look forward to visiting each and every one in my community in the near future. Congratulations to the government for the Stronger Communities Program. I hope it is repeated, because our communities are everything.

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