MarionLIFE Community Services

Mrs POWER (Elder) (15:32): Today, I rise to talk about an organisation that I and many of my parliamentary colleagues—and I see there is one sitting over there: the Minister for Environment—are proud to have been able to support: MarionLIFE Community Services. MarionLIFE Community Services is a not-for-profit community organisation located in Mitchell Park providing meaningful, flexible and responsive care and support to individuals and families in need. It delivers a range of community development programs and adult education courses, as well as providing crisis support.

On top of all this, MarionLIFE continually works to build a strong, supportive and connected community by providing ongoing opportunities for people to come together. A shining example of the commitment and creativity of the MarionLIFE team is seen in its Hunger Walk initiative. Last Sunday, it was an absolute pleasure to join approximately 80 participants on this year's Hunger Walk. The walk itself was around four kilometres along the Sturt River, with a chance to enjoy the spectacular views at Oaklands Wetland. Most importantly, it was designed to raise money and awareness to support the work of MarionLIFE in providing individuals, families and children with food support.

The 2017 Hunger Walk, which I also attended, raised enough money to cover the cost of community meals for six months. This meant that over 600 meals were served to our local community. While it may seem odd in our modern day and age to need to raise awareness about hunger, particularly in a place like South Australia, this is unfortunately a reality for many families. Each month, approximately 100,000 South Australians experience food insecurity, and one-third of those are children. The prices of essentials like food, health, education, housing, utilities and transport have climbed so much in recent years that people who are already struggling are susceptible to financial disadvantage. The current climate means that people who would never have even dreamed of seeking such support in the past are turning to charities such as MarionLIFE.

MarionLIFE provides our local community with a range of food support services such as Christmas Day lunch; a regular community meal which occurs on the first and third Thursday of every month and where attendees pay only what they can afford for a wonderful two-course meal; Brekky for Blokes, which is held on the second and fourth Friday of the month for a gold coin donation; and the Big Dish Up, which is a free six-week course on bulk and affordable cooking held in conjunction with Junction Australia and Urban Sprout. If anyone is interested in that cause, certainly get in touch with MarionLIFE. They also provide food pantry items for those needing emergency relief, and they provide before-school breakfasts for local schoolchildren.

MarionLIFE achieves a great deal, making a big impact. It does so because of its committed and hardworking team, which includes both staff and volunteers. Their efforts are incredible and so worthy of acknowledging here today in this place, and so I say congratulations and a heartfelt thank you to them. Leighton Boyd, the director, and his team of staff, including Trevor Hayley, Lauren Bonnet, Tristan Prentice, Sue Pastro, Rebecca Wu and Judith Brench, and to the many volunteers, thank you.

The organisation itself may not even exist without such a large volunteer group, so I acknowledge and praise the MarionLIFE volunteers for the time that they give and their passion to help our community. The impact of their kindness shapes our community in a significant way. Certainly there are more smiles, full bellies and comfort in our world because of the work you do. On behalf of our community, I say thank you for your dedication and your support. I stand proud that the Marshall Liberal government made a commitment to provide funding to MarionLIFE Community Services to ensure that they could continue to do the great work they do, and we are delivering on this commitment. Thank you.

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