Pat Conroy (Shortland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the great privileges of being a member of parliament is meeting extraordinary people who volunteer in our communities. A few weeks ago I was pleased to visit Meals on Wheels at Swansea and take part in a delivery run. All of us would be aware of the wonderful work that Meals on Wheels does in our communities, providing meals to people in their homes who, for a variety of reasons, need this assistance. I know firsthand the difference it makes as the grandmother of one of my good friends benefited from the deliveries, and he cannot talk highly enough of the difference it made in her daily life, receiving these meals when she was too sick to cook for herself. Of course this applies to so many elderly and vulnerable people in our communities who are no longer able to cook. In fact, the companionship and the act of checking up on these people is, in many cases, more valuable than the food itself. I like to think of the Meals on Wheels volunteers almost as social workers who bring food as well.

I recognise and acknowledge the work of the coordinator of the Swansea site, Donna Smith, and thank her and her team for the fabulous work they all do. It was fantastic to see firsthand the operation of the cooking on site. Donna emphasised to me that all the meals that are distributed from the Swansea site are freshly made and not frozen, and obviously this is very much appreciated by the recipients. I pay tribute to the head chef, Rebecca Allan, who is doing a great job in preparing these meals. On the delivery run I went out on, there was lots of positive feedback about the quality of the meals—so well done, Rebecca. I was grateful for the opportunity to do a delivery run for a few hours, and I thank Keith Graham for allowing me the opportunity to tag along on his run. I learnt that people from all walks of life access this service, whether it is because of disability, age or sickness. I really enjoyed helping Keith deliver the meals and could tell how appreciative the people we met along the way were of the service.

I acknowledge that there are serious question marks over the future of Meals on Wheels, with the funding agreement due to expire shortly. I would be very concerned, and I am sure all in my community would be concerned, if the funding that is now going to Meals on Wheels was allocated to larger organisations that might be purely focused on delivering frozen meals without any attention being paid to the wellbeing of the community members that Meals on Wheels services. This is a very important service and it is very important that it is grounded in the community, as all the local Meals on Wheels organisations are, including at Swansea. So it is very important that we get the funding agreements resolved so that Meals on Wheels can continue to do their fabulous work. Can I again place on record my thanks to Donna and her team at Swansea Meals on Wheels for the work they do in Shortland. Our community is a better place because of the generosity of these people. I look forward to a close relationship with this organisation and doing another delivery run soon.