Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Last Friday I opened the Mates4Mates family recovery centre in Ipswich. The latest ABS data shows there are over 14,000 current and ex-serving Australian Defence Force members living in the Ipswich region. From coffee to counselling, from a gym to mental health and physical rehabilitation, Mates4Mates will deliver that in Ipswich. I have had the privilege of being in Brisbane and Townsville to see what they're doing, and finally they've come to Ipswich. I want to congratulate the general manager, Emma Whitehead, and the Mates4Mates board chair, Major General Stephen Day.

This complements what the Albanese Labor government is doing in Ipswich—that is, the $5 million we're giving for the defence and families hub in Ipswich. It was a commitment made by those opposite and never delivered. We are delivering it in Ipswich. This $5 million commitment will be about more than mental health and physical rehabilitation. It's about connection. It's about transition from the ADF to civilian life. Nearly one in 10 people who leave the ADF leave from the Ipswich region into civilian life, as in Townsville—it's nearly one in 10 there. Ipswich is an important defence hub, with the RAAF base at Amberley. This is a great commitment by Mates4Mates. It's much needed. We have great RSL sub-branches in the Ipswich region, but we need this support, and thank you to Mates4Mates for delivering it. I look forward to working with the hub that this government is delivering for Ipswich.

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