Luke Howarth (Petrie, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Community Housing, Homelessness and Community Services) Share this | Hansard source

As COVID-19 was unfolding around us earlier this year, the chaplains in my electorate of Petrie observed that anxiety levels amongst students in the schools were rising. In some cases mum and dad had both lost their jobs and were stressed about money. Parents were working from home and trying to do home schooling. TV news was gloom and doom. At school the teachers and other educators were stressed. Life was stressful all round, and it was contagious.

I want to tell you a positive and proactive story from the chaplaincy program out of Hercules Road State School and Scarborough State School, where chappy Nathan Grady worked to develop 'Chappy TV', a fantastic online program to inject fun back into kids' lives. It delivered fortnightly as part of the school assembly, and it was something the students looked forward to. We know, developmentally, that children need fun to grow and relax. With this in mind, this chappy hosted online Lego master championships, dance competitions among the teachers and students, and joke sessions, found an adult-size school uniform and did funny skits promoting positive messages in a manner the children could engage with.

'It takes a village to raise a child' is an old African proverb, meaning that an entire community of people needs to wrap around the children to help them flourish in a safe and healthy way. I want to congratulate all the SU chaplains for the work they do and have done through this tough year, and I hope you will recharge for 2021.

Today being International Day of People with Disability, I would like to take the time to celebrate the work being done by Youngcare and its CEO, Anthony Ryan, to see the ability in disability. Last week I visited a new unit development in North Lakes, where a revolutionary design concept is being built for people living with severe disability, where they can live safely and independently as part of their community. Anthony Ryan told me that there isn't a parent or carer who has visited the soon-to-be-completed site at North Lakes that hasn't cried with happiness within 10 minutes of being there. These people have been caring for a loved one but are ageing themselves and are fearful of not being able to continue that level of care. People like Brian, who acquired a severe brain injury after smoking a cigarette on annual leave overseas that was laced with China white; or Trina, a scientist, struck down in the prime of her life by a stroke. I was surprised at how bright, airy and well-appointed the units were. The attention to detail for people living with disability was impressive, and each room had an en suite and 24-hour care. The most important consideration for Youngcare is to make sure that these homes are situated near other community assets like shopping centres and schools. I commend Youngcare for the work they are doing.

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