Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Having a child offers two very different extremes for a parent. On the one hand, it is the most exciting and rewarding time of a parent's life. There is genuinely nothing like it. But, on the other hand, at the same time, having a baby can be extremely stressful and isolating for families with young children. In my electorate of Spence, these challenges are often made harder by the existing disadvantages for families in the north. For parents in our community, who are perhaps already going through hardship from just having a child, often in finance, health care and even in their personal relationships, these challenges are made even more difficult by services that can be harder to access up north. Generational disadvantage informs a mistrust of intervention services. Those issues strike at the root of what the Labor government and I seek to address wherever we can: the socioeconomic and sometimes psychological gap in communities to connect families into society so they can thrive.

That is why I sought to host a Welcoming the Babies event in my electorate of Spence. I was privileged to be able to do so on Thursday last week in Elizabeth. It was incredible. We saw 80 families register with their babies and over two dozen organisations host stalls, with some incredible prizes for families donated by those organisations as well. It was a space where families could be welcomed into our community and where support services from all three tiers of government, non-government providers and non-profits could assist them with their needs. We had an incredible time doing it, with some fantastic activities and play areas set up by the amazing organisations involved.

I'd like to thank the two special guests for their attendance on the day: firstly, the honourable member Emily Bourke MLC, state Assistant Minister for Autism in South Australia, whose trailblazing work in the autism space cannot be understated; and, of course, our very own Minister for Early Childhood Education and Minister for Youth, whose enthusiasm on the day was absolutely infectious. Thank you so much for coming to our community.

I would also like to note the hard work that went into the organising of this event by the City of Playford, the Playford Early Childhood Alliance and, in particular, the working group for this event: Susan Petrie, Lisa Jenkin, Jo Saunders, Samantha Mullins and Tracey Alexander. Thank you all very much for your support and hard work in helping me and my office put this together. You've helped deliver a significant precedent-setting outcome for families in the north. These events are circuit breakers for families. Your work has meant that every child who went through the civic centre's doors last week will now be that much more connected to our community and essential services in an area that needs a helping hand the most. Thank you so much.