Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in support of National Carers Week, to recognise and celebrate the vital contribution all carers make to our country.

Many of us know carers through our families and friends. They play a vital role in Australian society and give of their time, energy and resources in the selfless service of those in need of regular care. They perform a role that the federal government can never replicate; a role that is intensely personal, often motivated by love and affection and tailored specifically to the person in need. They deserve the praise, thanks and support of this parliament. There are approximately 2.7 million unpaid carers in Australia, providing 36 million hours of care and support every week to families and friends with disabilities, illnesses and chronic health conditions.

In my electorate of Canning there are over 5,000 carer allowance and carer payment recipients. My constituent, Wilhelmina Buckland, has been caring for her son Darren for 43 years. Darren was born with Down syndrome but, despite this handicap, he leads a relatively normal life. Darren has been working for as long as Wilhelmina remembers—initially with Activ, Western Australia's largest disability service provider, and now with Intework in Mandurah. Wilhelmina says she treats Darren just like she treats her other sons—advice she would give to all carers. She encourages him to be as social and active as possible, from doing pottery on Mondays to visiting and performing songs at nursing homes.

Many carers lead demanding lives—simultaneously working, looking after children and often with elderly relatives either living in the same house or living separately. It is not surprising that carers need a break, and that they rely upon respite care. Respite care plays an important role in supporting the carers in our communities. For Wilhelmina, it may be having coffee on a Saturday with six other parents who are also carers or going away over the weekend with her husband. The relinquishing of that role as a carer, even temporarily, is important to the carer's longevity. It is thanks to organisations like Midway Community Care and Community First in Mandurah that carers can have the well-deserved break that they need.

In closing, I commend Wilhelmina and her husband for their dedication as carers, and I acknowledge the work and the important role that carers play in Western Australia and in Australia more broadly. I salute them today.