Ted O'Brien (Fairfax, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let's spare a thought for those people who are doing it particularly tough at the moment in the midst of the pandemic—the sick, the frail, the lonely. We in our nation's parliament rightly concern ourselves with public policy, which includes guaranteeing the safety net for all Australians, especially those who're doing it tough. But government is not always the solution. The government is not out there looking after every single vulnerable person and making sure every one of them doesn't fall through the cracks, much as we may wish to. Times like this remind us of the importance of community, the importance of a strong civil society, and I'm delighted to say the Sunshine Coast has just that because of the service oriented leadership of school principals, of church leaders, of business owners and of not-for-profit charities and their volunteers. Indeed, only a couple of weeks ago I visited Suncoast Christian Care's low-cost supermarket in Nambour, which provides low-cost groceries to people who don't have high incomes. What struck me on that visit was the friendliness of the staff and the volunteers and the respect they showed to their clients. This is what it's all about. These people are the unsung heroes of this pandemic.