Tony Pasin (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This week is Donate Life Week. It's about raising awareness and inspiring Australians to make a real difference to the lives of others by registering and telling their families that they want to be an organ donor. In this Donate Life Week, across Australia, agencies and community stakeholders are holding events and activities in their local areas to help promote the life-changing gift of organ and tissue donation. Organ donation is an amazing gift. It's a selfless act that can never be repaid.

The federal government is supporting organisations around the country to spread this message about the importance of organ donation, encouraging Australians to register. The Herd of Hope is one such organisation which is spreading the good word. It was founded in 2017 by Megan McLoughlin, herself an organ recipient and a resident of the Barossa Valley in my electorate of Barker.

Megan is an inspirational Australian. As a child, she was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. Later, she became legally blind and received an urgent life-saving transplant before being diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2015. Megan is passionate about rural Australia and is helping those who are in need of treatment who live in rural and regional Australia.

One in three rurally based residents will need transplants in their lifetime, but many do not have the ability to stay at home to receive that treatment. The organisation has recently partnered with the University of South Australia to fund a study into the impacts of transplant processes on recipients and their carers when regionally based.

Herd of Hope is an amazing organisation founded by an inspirational woman. I commend Megan and her team for all they're doing, not just this week but every week, for regional Australians.

Finally on this issue, can I say: I encourage all Australians to register for organ and tissue donation and talk to your family about that choice. It's one of the greatest gifts you can give.

Much of rural and regional Australia has, for some time, been in the grip of drought. Many communities in my electorate have been experiencing rainfall which is far below the average. These are communities whose economies rely on primary production. In short, without rain our regional communities suffer.

Our government of course is committed to helping these communities get through these tough times. Our drought support package is multifaceted, but tonight I want to focus on one aspect, the Drought Communities Program. Local governments, of course, are closest to their communities. The Drought Communities Program provides short-term support, including giving a boost to local employment and procurement and addressing social and community needs.

In my electorate, eight councils were deemed to be eligible for a million dollar commitment to undertake projects that will deliver real outcomes for those communities struggling with the effects of drought. While each of these eight are in various stages in relation to this program, from planning to completion, I'm extremely proud that I can point to the projects they've prioritised in their communities that are making a real and direct difference for the people in my electorate and their communities.

We have projects for childcare facility upgrades in Karoonda and Pinnaroo. We've got work going on on rural roads, for farming access in Kapunda and to increase the tourism industry in towns along the River Murray. I'm seeing these projects roll out. I'm seeing the local employment they're generating. I'm seeing the stimulation of the economy but also people having that sense that there are others willing to help them with these tough times.

Nothing truer has been said in this place than, 'We can't make it rain.' We absolutely can't. Whilst government can't make it rain, we can support communities that are struggling with the effects of there being very little rainfall. As you've heard me say in the party room, in the halls and in other places, we're backing our farmers and we'll continue to stand up for them whether it comes to droughts, rain, hail or shine.