Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to pay tribute to one of my constituents from Albury, a man behind one of Australia's most inspiring community based charity efforts. Local orthodontist Dr John Brabant—who just happened to straighten my teeth when I was in my 20s—just happened to read a story in his local newspaper about eight years ago. The article highlighted the rising numbers of homeless in the Albury-Wodonga region. It challenged local readers, suggesting that it might be easier for them to ignore the problem and turn away rather than care to make a difference. John took up the challenge. As he puts it: 'It was like an epiphany. That was what I had to do, and I went out and did it.'

John Brabant founded a still-growing organisation known as Carevan, a mobile food van set up to move through Albury-Wodonga to help those who needed a hand to get a decent feed. It was not an easy start. The original caravan, decked out and ready to serve its first meals to the needy, was destroyed by fire in 2010. News of the setback reached local businesses and social groups, who then all jumped in behind John's idea and came up with a new van within days.

As the saying goes, from little things big things grow. John's Carevan Foundation has built from one man's vision to now work alongside other local groups and is accessible to any agency, group or organisation committed to the fight against homelessness and for the reduction of poverty. We now see thousands of people benefiting from the concept, with John's idea spreading to serve the nearby community of Wangaratta in north-east Victoria and into New South Wales, including another city in my electorate, Griffith. Griffith's Carevan was established in 2014. Carevans are also located at Blacktown in Sydney and in Armidale, and they will soon be in Tamworth. John Brabant's vision is certainly starting to take hold, but there is more to tell.

As a dental specialist he also saw the opportunity to improve the dental hygiene of the people and families he was helping. From this idea the Sun Smiles oral health program was born in 2012, with the aim of improving oral health literacy, oral hygiene skills and access to preventative dental care for primary school children. It has also spread from a localised campaign across Albury-Wodonga to Bendigo, Wangaratta and Western Sydney, to enable future improvements in every child's oral health. I remember visiting one such school in Western Sydney with my colleague, the member for Reid.

On the Queen's Birthday, Dr Brabant was awarded an Order of Australia for services to people who are homeless and to dentistry. He hopes the honour bestowed on him will now open doors to even greater support for Carevan, particularly from new partnerships with government. Each van requires an annual budget of $80,000 to $100,000 and relies almost entirely on local sponsorship and donations. John was one of six people in Farrer to be bestowed with a Queen's Birthday honour, and was certainly a worthy recipient. As well, this was a wonderful indication of all the good things people do to care for others. (Time expired)