Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today marks the start of National Carers Week, a week dedicated to recognising and commending the contribution of unpaid carers to our country. They're usually family and friends who make a great contribution to the people they love and to the broader community. About 2.7 million Australians are considered to be unpaid carers. Of this number, 85,508 are within Tasmania. We're a small state, a state of 500,000 people, and we've got 85,000 carers. And yet, for the most part, many of these people do not consider themselves carers but feel that they are instead simply taking on a role that comes with being part of a family or being a friend of someone who needs support.

Anyone at any time may become a carer, and National Carers Week provides us with the opportunity to stand up and acknowledge the work that all carers do, to thank them for their contribution and to help raise awareness about the diversity of carers and the diversity of what they do. Throughout my electorate of Lyons, it is estimated that one in six homes includes a family carer. Of the 85,508 carers in my state, 7,600 are under the age of 25, and 2,100 are under the age of 15. Statistically, that means there is one carer in every classroom in Tasmania. So my plea goes out to the kids in the galleries above: be a carer.