Andrew Giles (Scullin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Cities and Urban Infrastructure) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The past months have been a challenging time for all Australians, but I think we all in this place can acknowledge the extraordinary contribution that the community has demonstrated. I'd like to highlight that which I have witnessed in my electorate of Scullin: people looking after themselves, respecting social distancing and, importantly, understanding the needs of looking after vulnerable members of our community at this most challenging of times. I'm here to acknowledge that generally but also to reflect on some particular contributions in the community that I think deserve some attention. I refer, in particular, to the work of the group that's come together to form the Whittlesea Food Collective, a consortium brought together by Whittlesea Community Connections. Whittlesea Community Connections, which is probably the most significant local community service organisation, has brought together a range of people, organisations and volunteers to a very worthy enterprise.

It's a tragedy that, even in good times, emergency relief is a challenge that we face in a society as rich as ours, but it's been a particularly acute challenge through the pandemic with all the restrictions that have been imposed upon us and the challenges of job losses, hours-of-work loss, and other restrictions imposed upon individuals in the community. So, I was very pleased to be able to visit the food collective site at Epping and speak to some of the organisers and volunteers to express my deep appreciation for the work they've done and to listen to them about the challenges that they have been facing and seeking to overcome, to reflect on what they have been doing, and the lessons for me and, perhaps, also for all of us on how we can better come together through this to emerge stronger as communities and as a society.

I'd like to acknowledge Alex Haynes, the CEO of Whittlesea Community Connections, for her vision in bringing this consortium together, and the contribution of local organisations, particularly Alex from Infinity Church and Gianna from Encompass Care, for the enormous contribution they have made in keeping isolated and vulnerable people fed through this time—and engaged, at a time when we know that loneliness has been a pandemic every bit as much as the virus itself. I acknowledge the many local businesses that have contributed too and thank them in this place for their contribution to building a stronger society.

I was concerned and interested to hear from all of those involved that the nature of the people being supported by emergency relief has changed dramatically. They are seeing many, many more asylum seekers and, in particular, international students, presenting as vulnerable, at a loss, without support, without connection, needing to be fed. This is something I've reflected on. We need to work harder to secure a safety net that catches everyone through this and to recognise that we all are indeed in this together. We need to think in this place about how we can make sure that everyone can look after themselves so that they can also look after all of us and that we can, indeed, all be in this together.