Jenny Ware (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I stand to recognise and acknowledge Sutherland Food Services and the work the team does in supporting the seniors community in my electorate of Hughes. Operating for more than 50 years, Sutherland Food Services was better known as Meals on Wheels. It produces and delivers healthy, nutritious and affordable meals to our seniors.

The change of name reflects that it does more than provide nutritious food—although this it does, with 60 different menu options. Sutherland Food Services focuses on the overall health and wellbeing of its customers using a model of proactive care. For many of our seniors, unable to leave their homes or prepare a meal, the volunteer from Sutherland Food Services may be the only person they have spoken to or seen that day. Accordingly, it also performs an important societal and community function, an important welfare function and an important mental health function. Many individuals initially are reluctant to use the services. After all, who, of any of us, wishes to lose our independence or admit that we are losing some of our independence? However, the Sutherland Food Services model is centred on building the capacity of customers to encourage, facilitate and empower independence in homes for as long as possible. This means Sutherland Food Services, through its provision of food and other benefits, is assisting people to remain in their homes and to remain independent and healthy for as long as possible.

Sutherland Food Services is very capably managed by Sue Green, with whom I have met. It operates with only seven part-time employees as well as a team of 75 volunteers from the Sutherland Shire. The board of management comprises skilled and invested local community members. Its customer base includes more than 200 senior residents, many of whom are within my electorate of Hughes. Volunteers are trained in senior services and food safety procedures, ensuring that, at the time every meal is delivered, the volunteers will subtly undertake an assessment of the senior with whom they are dealing. Susan, I am sure, would not mind me saying that she's a very effective herder of cats, calm under pressure, and imbues in her staff her positivity, a high work ethic and a commonsense approach to solving complex issues that arise every day.

It has been six months today since I was elected. I want to thank the people of Hughes for the overwhelming support that they have given me within my electorate. I want to thank my parliamentary colleagues on both sides of the House. I want to thank my electorate staff and, most particularly, I want to thank my husband, Michael, on whom a lot of the burden at home has now fallen, and to my sons, James and Nicholas—I promise I will make it to your formal on Monday night. In conclusion, I also thank all of the staff who work within this place, without whom we could not do our jobs.