Wellbeing Bushfire Grants and Community Groups

The Hon. D.R. CREGAN (Kavel) (15:11): Members, as you know, my community and others across the state suffered the devastating impact of summer bushfires in late 2019. The recovery process has been long. It is challenging at times. It requires all in our community to work together, and I have been delighted to see that a number of groups working together have received grants under the Strengthening Community Wellbeing after Bushfires program.

The Woodside Commerce Association, working in concert with Love Woodside, received $13,680 to assist with updating the Woody Trails BMX park and for related purposes. Love Woodside is a large, active community volunteer group that seeks to build a vibrant and resilient Woodside community. It includes many volunteers, including from the Woodside Commerce Association, the Onkaparinga Lions club, the Onkaparinga Rotary club and, of course, many other allied groups, participants and volunteers. Its members are dedicated to improving both Woodside and the wider Adelaide Hills region. I must say, having observed the work of all the people involved, it is remarkable, valuable and deeply appreciated by me.

A grant of $15,200 was given to the Willows Children's Centre in Mount Barker to assist the Connection and Yarning Women's and Children's Group to support Aboriginal women and children in the Adelaide Hills. The group provides a cultural playground for children, seeks to support Aboriginal people to connect with culture and land and also supports the wider community. This project is of particular significance, given the widespread destruction to significant trees, sacred plants and animals caused by the Cudlee Creek bushfires.

The Mount Barker District Council received a $13,265 grant to deliver the Brukunga Community Hub's 'Hall to Hub' project. The grant will be used to build an accessible community garden at the Brukunga Hall for the purposes of increasing community connection and wellbeing. Members will know that Brukunga was particularly impacted by the Cudlee Creek bushfire. It will also be used to deliver a Mental Health Aware workshop and to build local capacity to respond to mental health and wellbeing needs. These are very significant initiatives. They must continue in my community, and I am very grateful that the government continues to support the recovery in the process.

It must be said that the impact of bushfires on a community lingers for many years. The recovery process, as I indicated at the outset, can only be successfully navigated if the whole community participates in that process. It is a long journey, a tough journey. There are people who are able to recover more speedily than others. Some have access to wider family support. Some, of course, before the bushfires, had their own difficulties and challenges that were only compounded by the impact of bushfire.

I can say, though, that both local councils within Kavel have been working incredibly hard to support their communities, and I am very grateful to all local councils who have done much more than could reasonably have been expected of them to assist the community. It is an important level of government. I know, of course, that both councils are going through their election process now.

I also want to say this about our local CFS: of course they were there as volunteers to assist our community in the course of the Cudlee Creek bushfire—they have done much more than that. They are so well integrated in our community that on their shoulders they have carried, in part, some of the recovery effort. But it must also be observed that CFS members face particular pressures and strains, and we are very mindful of their mental health. I must say that I will keep that well in mind in this place and will always be advocating for additional support for my CFS community.