Emma Husar (Lindsay, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I just want to say thank you to the member for Newcastle for this motion, and I am pleased to stand up here in support of all the carers around the country. People become carers in different ways. For some people it's a very gradual process. Others might find themselves in the role much more suddenly. Either way, it's never easy, nor is it ever a burden. For the work you do, I want to say thank you—thank you to those people in Lindsay, the 4,979 carers, 313 caring for a child and 2,113 who are in receipt of the carer payment. Payments are the only way we are able to collect the statistics of who is caring for who.

I want to send a shout-out to Renee, a woman I have known in my electorate for a very long time, who has two children with autism, and to her mum, Janelle, who helps care for those two kids; to Belinda, who also has two children with autism and also works full time in disability; to Elise and Barry, for the care they give their little boy, Bobby, who acquired his disability through a very disgusting and horrible assault when he was an infant; to Bob, who cares for his almost 100-year-old mum, who's an avid Labor supporter; and to Bill, who cared for his late wife, Lisa, who battled with terminal illness. There are members of my own family who have children with special needs: my aunty, my cousin, my sister and my mum, who cared for my uncle—thank you to those people.

From 15 to 21 October we celebrated Carers Week. In New South Wales there are 850,000 unpaid carers looking after a family member or a friend. To say that this is a self-sacrificing job is an absolute understatement. It's estimated that each week in Australia we spend an incredible 36 million hours in these roles. To put that into perspective, replacing carers with paid care workers would cost taxpayers $40.9 billion annually. Every person in Australia should be thanking carers for the incredible work they do—taking on the role of carer can turn your world and your life upside down. There can be social isolation, and not the same leisure time to spend with friends, family, work colleagues or your other children. There are also financial burdens. It's not uncommon to hear stories of people swapping out paid work hours for unpaid care hours, or even having to leave work completely. I was one of those people. My son, who celebrates his 11th birthday today, was born with a disability and I was one of those carers for many, many years of his life, and experienced social isolation and having my life turned completely upside down. I wouldn't change it for all the tea in China, as they say, but it's hard work. So, to all of those people in caring roles, thank you.

Being a carer can be a very rewarding experience, although there is a lot of stress and anxiety that can come with it. For me, the reward is being motivated enough to come into this place and to do something about things for the long term, for all those other carers and children with disabilities who will follow me and my son. Having to juggle education or a job can be absolutely hard enough as it is, let alone finding a job, if you're a carer, that has flexible hours in it. All the research shows that if carers aren't supported properly there can be devastating impacts on health, education and wellbeing. As a community, it is our job to support, not just the people who need care, but those people who are providing it.

As an example of the great work in our community I'd like to mention PATH, the Penrith Association for People with Disabilities, their families and their friends. Originally established in 1981 by parents of children with disabilities, PATH has been providing information and advocacy to people with disabilities, families and carers. This year they held two events for carers, giving our carers the opportunity to meet each other and share stories. I want to thank the organisers of PATH and those people for the incredible work that they do and the success of their events. Sharing stories cannot be underestimated when it comes to carers trading tips and providing some comfort to each other when those hard times hit. Social media, when used correctly, can be a great place of support, but it is important to be able to come together and talk about those challenges and triumphs, especially when your six-year-old finally learns to use a potty. For all of your friends whose kids started using the potty at 18 months that's no big deal, but when your six-year-old finally has a turn, you want to celebrate it with people who understand just how big that milestone is. So thank you to PATH.

There are many other groups in my community that provide support. I'd like to thank everybody for the contribution they have made to our community and to Australia, and I hope they all had a very enjoyable Carers Week, spent some time on themselves and got to take a bit of time out.

Debate adjourned.

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