Catryna Bilyk (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Saturday morning, I had the pleasure of attending the Huon Valley Hilltop Hike in Huonville, south of Hobart. Created in 2022 after the tragic loss of several young people from the Huon Valley community to suicide, the Hilltop Hike had the simple aim of starting a conversation about suicide prevention and mental health—and start a conversation it did. Last year, the event raised over $67,000, with all funds going directly into local mental health services and community mental health training. This was an astonishing achievement for such a small community, highlighting the willingness of the community to confront this too often difficult subject.

Based on this success, the Hilltop Hike has now become an annual event, with the focus this year on youth mental health in the Huon Valley area. More than just a climb to the top of Huonville's Scenic Hill—and what a climb it is—the hike is a united front of a local community demonstrating their commitment to the mental wellbeing of the next generation. Money raised from this year's event will be used for the vital expansion of youth drop-in programs run by the Huon Valley Police and Community Youth Club. It's hoped the money raised for this event will allow the program to operate for five days a week, which will make a huge difference to the lives of vulnerable people in the Huon Valley community. This is yet another example of the power of charities in not only changing lives but positively transforming entire communities.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the Huonville Rotary Club members and all involved for their hard work and dedication in making this event possible. I know they had a number of sponsors; the list is too long to read in this short time. I also want to thank all those people who braved the cold, the bleak and the wet—and it was cold, bleak and wet—last Saturday morning in Hobart, in southern Tasmania. To the people who braved all those conditions to undertake the hike— (Time expired)