Paul Fletcher (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to acknowledge the outstanding work of Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury in my electorate of Bradfield. In recent months I've visited Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury, which is based in Gordon in my electorate, on two occasions and I've visited them many times over my time as the local member. I'm very pleased that, since 2016, Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury has received over $61,000 in funding towards the centre at Gordon through various federal government grants, particularly Stronger Communities and volunteer grants.

Last weekend I joined the Prime Minister at the centre, where the Prime Minister announced an additional $52.3 million in funding for Lifeline Australia as part of the 2022 federal budget. This funding will go to support the outstanding crisis support services that Lifeline offers Australians, as it has done for the past 60 years. When combined with the support the Morrison government is already providing to Lifeline, this brings total crisis services support provided by the Morrison government to $114.2 million over the next four years.

On this visit, and on previous visits to the centre, I had the opportunity to meet a number of the dedicated staff and volunteers and to learn more about the great work that they do. This work includes suicide prevention services with a focus on helping pull Australians who may be thinking of suicide away from the edge when they're facing really tough times. I learned about the help services they provide for Australians who are struggling with gambling and the financial distress that can result for people who become addicted to gambling.

I want to express my thanks to those who were at the event on Saturday, including Wendy Carver, the CEO of Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury, Mr John Brogden, the patron of Lifeline Australia, Mr Colin Seery, the Chief Executive of Lifeline Australia, Ms Angela Dodd, the Chief Financial Officer of Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury, Ms Julie Wicks, the Chief Operating Officer, and Caroline McGrory, the supervisor of the call centre at Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury. In particular, I also want to acknowledge all of the dedicated volunteers at Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury. Those I met on recent visits included Ms Michelle McCallum, Mr Dominic Broden and Ms Brenda Barber, and I've met a number over the years. I particularly want to acknowledge my constituents in Bradfield who volunteer at Lifeline Harbour to Hawkesbury.

I say to all Australians: if you are in need, if you need to talk to somebody, if you're struggling, call Lifeline on 131114.