Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Community mental health, including youth and veterans mental health, is a matter that's very close to my heart. I'm committed to delivering hubs in my electorate of Solomon that engage and support youth and veterans. We delivered a veterans and families hub last year, with the opening of the Mates4Mates Veteran and Family Wellbeing Centre in Stuart Park, and there are outreach services to Palmerston. Previously, there was an interim wellbeing centre in Palmerston. This centre in Darwin provides vital services to veterans and their families in the Top End.

I look forward to working with the NT government to realise our government's funding commitments to deliver the Darwin Youth and Community Hub in Casuarina and the Scott Palmer Services Centre in Marrara. We are investing $5 million to build the youth engagement hub in Casuarina, and the NT government will provide ongoing operational funding and the land. The hub is another step closer, with the recent removal of the old Casuarina Fire Station, and that part of the project is almost complete. I'm absolutely delighted to see this progress on the Casuarina Youth Engagement Hub. However, there's much work to do still, and there should be no delays. This hub will provide vital support for young Territorians. The design and consultation work has been done, so better support and facilities for our young people should not be far away.

I'm also committed to working with the NT government to deliver the Scott Palmer Services Centre. Scott Palmer was a commando and the only Territorian killed in the conflict in Afghanistan. He tragically lost his life in a helicopter crash on Monday 21 June 2010. Scott's parents, Ray and Pam Palmer, have turned their grief from losing their son into a passion for assisting veterans not just in the Northern Territory but around our nation. The Scott Palmer centre will support veterans and first responders who either are homeless or are at risk of homelessness. The Albanese Labor government committed $3.6 million for this supported housing hub for veterans and first responders in Darwin, at the site of the old Darwin North RSL, and the NT government committed $300,000 to make the site ready for the handover and for construction to begin.

I look forward to working with the NT government on these very important projects for young Territorians and for Territory veterans.