Bernie Ripoll (Oxley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

All members in this place are very generous. They are generous with their salaries, their time, their income and they always help out local charities. I know that is the case right across the board with every member of parliament. Every once in a while we get a rare opportunity—and I was privileged just recently when I was offered an opportunity to speak at a series of dinners, and I was paid for it. It was a substantial amount of money—$10,000—and I decided that I could not take the money in good faith so I decided to donate it to charities. I declare that to the parliament and I want to say where that money went.

Youngcare is a fantastic charity in my local area which supports young people who need a caring environment other than an aged-care facility. It felt important, given that we have 6,500 young Australians who are currently living in aged-care facilities simply because there are no alternatives, so I made a $2,000 donation to this wonderful organisation and lovely group of people.

Juvenile diabetes is also a very worthwhile charity, and I thought it was important to support them in the work they do. I do this anyway, but this was a unique opportunity that I had. I presented a cheque to the youth ambassador of Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Lucy Bedford, in my electorate in the lead-up to World Diabetes Day on 14 November. This young woman was diagnosed with type 1 juvenile diabetes in June last year and she took up the challenge. She is a wonderful person and I congratulate her for the work that she is doing.

Another charity which is close to my heart is cystic fibrosis. It affects so many people and it is one of those rare conditions which we still struggle to understand and to find a cure for. I felt that it was important to support that cause as well, and I made a $4,000 donation through Matt Britton, who is cycling for cystic fibrosis, and Ray Miller, whose daughter, Nadia, suffers from cystic fibrosis and has had to deal with it through all of her 18 years. I know that the money will go to a very good cause, Cystic Fibrosis Queensland, as part of their general fundraising efforts.

I gave to one other group, which is also a really special group in my electorate called ‘the grans’—the grandmas. They are a bunch of lovely ladies who formed a group called Giving with Love. They make up personal packages for young kids who are removed from homes where there is violence and who really have nothing—no possessions of their own. The grans do them up a little kit—a towel, a toothbrush and a few bits and pieces—so the kids feel like they have something that belongs to them. I gave them some assistance because I understand that the group fundraise or pay out of their own pensions for most of the work they do. I feel that all of these groups do such great work in our community and we should all make more effort to help support them.