Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the privileges of public life is the interaction that one has with the community. That was brought home to me one week ago when I was given the singular honour of being able to open the Car Yard Cafe. The Car Yard Cafe is a facility operated by Aurora Disability Services. When I opened that cafe on 15 March this year, they were celebrating their 29th birthday, having been operational as a volunteer committee, with some paid staff, assisting the disability community by stressing their abilities and harnessing their abilities. Founded by the inspirational Joy Cairns and her husband Graham, Aurora Disability Services has provided assistance to countless numbers of families for nearly three decades now. They have facilities at Mill Lane in Glenorchy in the northern suburbs of Hobart. They also have The Old Chapel Tea Rooms in Glenorchy, and now their newest facility is the Car Yard Cafe in Derwent Park, which is very close by to Glenorchy—the next suburb south.

What made this opening so special for me was that it was a genuine celebration of community at its very best. The whole cafe was set up and is operated without a single cent of taxpayer money. It was all done on a volunteer and also a business model. The landlord assisted with a rental arrangement. A legal firm assisted with legal work. People made all sorts of donations and contributions to ensure that this facility could get up and running, and it would be fair to say none more so than the founders of Aurora Disability Services, Joy and Graham Cairns.

We, as a nation, should be celebrating facilities such as the Car Yard Cafe where the community comes together and works together to deliver for the less fortunate within our community, in this case the disability sector, and where the community rallies together and ensures that facilities can be provided without the support of taxpayer funding. I believe that that is a model that other communities around Australia should look at, celebrate, emulate and copy. There is so much a community can do if the community is appropriately motivated to do something for themselves and to assist each other. Too often there are people within the community that will say, 'Wouldn't that be a good idea,' and then come to government seeking taxpayer assistance.

I recall, prior to my entry to this place, having the privilege of being involved with the establishment of, firstly, Jireh House women's shelter, which is still going, and, secondly, Yastas, which is short for Youth Accommodation Services Tasmania. They are two facilities that were established by community people simply getting together and setting up the show without the need of any taxpayer funding. I recall at Jireh House, the women's shelter, we were somewhat naive. We did not realise that federal government funding was available until after a few years of operation. The ladies that ran the show then approached them, and Commonwealth departmental officials could not believe what had been happening without taxpayer funding.

The community does have a responsibility to provide, when it can, these sorts of facilities. So, when I was opening the Car Yard Cafe, pretty much at this time exactly one week ago, I could not help but remember that which I had been involved in. I was so excited to see the car yard owner providing rental assistance and a legal firm providing legal service and a cafe company providing free coffees for the opening. I am also reminded of the fact that milk, bread and other requirements for both the Car Yard Cafe and The Old Chapel Tea Rooms are provided by a generous supporter and donor. I think this is a model that needs to be emulated and supported. Having said that, of course, these facilities always need people who are drivers within their community.

As I indicated earlier, Joy Cairns in particular, ably assisted by her husband Graham, has been running Aurora Disability Services now for some 29 years. What should be noted is that, prior to establishing Aurora Disability Services, Joy Cairns was involved in another disability service provider, so she has a very long history. Her efforts in this area were awarded with an OAM some years ago. Clearly she is deserving of that for the work she has done within the disability sector. Joy Cairns, her volunteers and those who are employed there are committed to ensuring that the first three letters of the word disability are, in effect, written in lowercase, and the word ABILITY is written in uppercase. That is what they seek to do: concentrate on the ability of the people.

I invite any Tasmanian, or, indeed, any of my colleagues that might be visiting Tasmania, to pop into either The Old Chapel Tea Rooms or the Car Yard Cafe, and experience the wonderful, warm atmosphere, and be served by people who have a disability but are harnessing their abilities. They are very good and capable of providing you with a wonderful bowl of soup, toasted sandwiches, a cup of coffee or whatever might be your requirement. These are people who enjoy the opportunity of employment. These are people who really do see the benefit of working within a proper structure. They are trainees, and they are being ably assisted by the volunteers and the employees of Aurora Disability Services.

I want to place on record that I considered it a great honour to be allowed to open the Car Yard Cafe and promote the concept of community getting involved in self-help, and also the community considering where and how they might be able to assist those that are disabled amongst us—and, might I also add, the mums and dads who dedicate their lives to those who are disabled—with these services. They not only provide employment and training opportunities for the disabled in our community, but, in providing them with that opportunity, they also provide the mums and dads of these people the opportunity to be able to do other things while their children are at work, undertaking the servicing of the customers in these facilities.

I wish the Car Yard Cafe every success, and I encourage my fellow Tasmanians, whenever possible, to partake of the service and the beverages that they provide to ensure that they maintain viability. Aurora Disability Services has been around now for 29 years. I hope and pray that they will be around for many more years to come.