Brett Whiteley (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

All too often, members of parliament get into a frenzy of communication with their constituents—especially around election time, when there is a flood of doorknocking, community meetings and bombarding people with letters and brochures. However, I think it is fair to say that, after an election, this frenzy dies away, often leaving constituents feeling a little jaded and cynical. Since the day I was elected, I have been determined to continue the conversation that I had through the campaign and that I want to continue to have with the voters of Braddon. I have been doorknocking as much as I can. I have hosted over 30 Community Cuppas across the towns and cities of Braddon, meeting with locals in their homes, around the townships and in my office, and visiting many, many small businesses.

Part of this plan to keep in touch with my constituents is my biggest survey, which I will be launching next week. It will hitting everybody's letterboxes and it will give everybody a chance to tell me their views on a range of issues. It will enable the electors of Braddon to tell me of the important issues that they face—from the economy to infrastructure, roads, health and education. In addition to mailing the surveys to households, it will be available for completion on my website. I will be taking it to around five of the local agricultural shows in the next couple of months to make sure every constituent has a chance to have their say. Even if I met all day every day with locals, I would still not be able to meet with each and every resident of Braddon during my first term of parliament. I believe everyone should have a chance to have a say and have their voice heard, no matter the time of year and no matter whether it be an election period or a non-election period. This survey is one of the easiest ways for the people I represent to tell me how they feel on a range of topics. The survey will come to their doors, be available at their fingertips and will only require a trip to the post office or pressing the finish button when doing it online to return it to me for my contemplation. I encourage all Braddon residents to have their say through my biggest survey.

Thursday last week was World Suicide Prevention Day. To raise awareness, to reduce the stigma and to increase suicide awareness in our communities so that anyone can give and receive care, I joined with about 400 people last Friday night at Burnie Park for the 'Out of the Shadows and into the Light' walk. Sadly, Tasmania has an unacceptably high level of suicide. Nationally, 10.9 in every 100,000 people take their own lives, but in Tasmania that number is 15.1. In a moving service at the Out of the Shadows walk, I joined with the Deputy Premier of Tasmania, Jeremy Rockliff, to unveil a memorial for people to visit at Burnie Park in times of remembrance. Last year I planted a tree. This year we unveiled a memorial bench and a small plaque on a piece of beautifully polished bluestone with a reflection written on it. It is a small but important memorial, and I thank all those involved in creating a space, particularly the King and Jones families.

The English writer GK Chesterton said of suicide:

The man who kills a man kills a man. The man who kills himself kills all men. As far as he is concerned, he wipes out the world.

It is often difficult for us to understand why someone would feel that there is no other option but to 'wipe out the world', just as we in positions of leadership in Tasmania struggle to understand the prevalence of suicide in our state. As we all struggle in our own way to understand suicide, it is important for us to come together as a community to support those touched by suicide and those individuals and organisations working to raise awareness of prevention strategies we can all use in our day-to-day relationships.

This week is National Stroke Week. Every 10 minutes someone suffers a stroke. In one week, almost 1,000 Australians are faced with a challenge as a result of stroke. The National Stroke Foundation is promoting three messages this week: be aware, live healthy and get checked.

The startling fact is that one in six of us will have a stroke in our lifetime. In 2014, in the electorate of Braddon alone 275 people suffered a stroke. Currently there are over 2,342 people living with stroke in Tasmania's north west, west coast and King Island. The National Stroke Foundation provides some simple tips to reduce the chance of a stroke. They are eat well, keep a healthy weight, do not smoke, keep blood pressure down, exercise regularly and keep alcohol consumption to a minimum.

As a country we want to shine the spotlight on stroke—educating the community on its signs and how to minimise our risk of stroke. Every person should know how to recognise a stroke. The easiest way of recognising a stroke is the word 'fast'. F for face: has the persons face dropped? A for arms: can the person raise both their arms? S for speech: is their speech slurred? T for time: call triple 0 immediately. Stroke does not discriminate; however, we can all reduce our risk and should encourage our family and friends to reduce their risk also. I thank the House.