Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Climate Action, Environment and Heritage) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak in relation to three grievances. They are not the usual types of grievances, where we are casting blame upon one level of government or another. They are grievances in relation to the legitimate concerns of different community groups which need to be addressed, and now is the moment to turn and address those points of disadvantage.

The first is in relation to the You Are My Sunshine Foundation and the cause of young children who suffer from neuroblastoma. It is a condition of which I was not aware previously. My exposure to the condition came about as a consequence of discussions I had with Judi Donahoo on the Mornington Peninsula and also on Phillip Island recently. Whilst I was there she explained to me that she had lost her young granddaughter, Kahlilla, or Lilly, at age five. Lilly was a beautiful young girl who had suffered from neuroblastoma. With so many of these young children, 60 per cent of cases in the late stages will not live. As the father of a five-year-old, I found this quite extraordinary.

Judi is setting out to raise money for awareness of this condition to help train doctors in early stage diagnosis. At this stage, late stage treatment is not successful in many cases. Early stage diagnosis is the best way to find a cure. In honour of her granddaughter, Judi and her family and others helped to set up the You Are My Sunshine Foundation. It was launched on Phillip Island in September 2009. To date, it has raised over $70,000 towards early diagnosis and a cure for neuroblastoma. This condition accounts for about 15 per cent of childhood deaths. I applaud the work which is being done. I ask that many members of this House contribute to and look at how they can highlight the work of the You Are My Sunshine Foundation in their own electorates. It is a worthy cause. It is one of many, of course, but it is powerful and important.

In a similar vein, I wish to refer to Frankston/Peninsula Carers Inc. Hastings, as part of the work of Frankston/Peninsula Carers, has been selected as the site for a new community housing project. It is the Hastings model. It came about because of the process of deinstitutionalisation—a worthy goal. But the deinstitutionalisation of many people who were part of psychiatric facilities in Victoria, New South Wales and right across Australia was not accompanied by an appropriate mid-stage transition path. What we need in Australia at this moment in time is a very strong movement towards supported accommodation. That is the Hastings model. They have a small number of people who have particular adult disability needs in a supported environment, with assistance to live there, with assistance to develop and with assistance to maintain their condition. As part of this process, 13 of the 20 homes will go to the aged and families on low to moderate incomes. Seven of the 20 homes will be available for intellectually and physically disabled adults.

The problem that elderly carers face is real, significant and profound. Many of them live in great fear of death or incapacity and of their adult child with a disability being left to fend for him- or herself. This is not a fault for which any government should be held to account. It is a failure to recognise that the deinstitutionalisation process in and of itself was not enough.

This is the moment when, as a nation, we have to turn towards recognition that supported accommodation does not represent reinstitutionalisation; it represents the necessary minimum of support for people who live, in many circumstances, on the fringes; who require additional assistance; who require support; and who require maintenance. It is this process of supported accommodation which the Hastings model has set up. Karl Hell—who, sadly, passed away over the course of the past year—was one of its founders, along with Joy and David Jarman. I know Joy and David well, and I knew Karl well. All of them have been concerned about their own children—adults with disabilities. They should be very proud of their work, and Karl’s family should be very proud of what he has achieved. The Hastings model will, I believe, spread around the country and provide a form of supported accommodation.

We worked hard to get the support of the state and federal governments after we fell out of office, and I thank those at both levels who were able to assist. I am delighted that the building, which is within 100 metres of my office in Hastings, has already begun. I can see the progress every week as I return from parliament, or on any one day if I am in and about my electorate office.

That leads me to a third group which is in need of assistance: Phillip Island farmers. The farmers went through the period of drought, they coped well and they managed their water resources. Now, unfortunately, because of a broader, overarching state policy, those within the Bass Coast Shire Council have been greatly concerned by rate rises of up to 200 per cent within five years. The rates apply to farms on land within the Bass Coast Shire. It is not the shire’s fault; it is the fact that the shire has not been appropriately resourced for the challenges of a low rate base with a massively high rate of growth. Some individual rates have risen by more than $10,000. This has crippled farmers. We do not think it is fair or appropriate. The state should ensure that there are equalisation payments to the Bass Coast commensurate with its rate of growth, not just its population level.

That is extremely important. I grieve for our farmers and seek assistance and relief for them by saying to the state government of the day, whoever it may be after this Saturday, that there must be a process of equalisation for the Bass Coast, particularly for the farmers who maintain the green wedge land which makes Phillip Island and the Bass Coast such a beautiful place.