Ceduna Community Hub

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:19): My question is to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. Will the minister inform the council about the good work of the Ceduna Red Cross community hub?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:19): I thank the honourable member for his question, and I am most happy to do so. In early December, I visited Ceduna for a number of visits, including to visit the Red Cross community hub. I was impressed with the hard work and dedication of the staff who were there that day and the many volunteers at the community hub.

The Red Cross community hub is a focal point for service delivery in Ceduna, where essential supports can be provided to some of the most vulnerable members of the community. Aboriginal community members residing in Ceduna and surrounding communities regularly use the hub. On my visit, I was struck by the breadth of programs and activities that are conducted at the hub, particularly the women's wellbeing safety days that are conducted at the Red Cross community hub in partnership with Centacare. At the time of my visit, plans were well underway for future such programs.

The Red Cross also advocates through stakeholder engagement, supporting the families of offenders in a more holistic way in particular while a family member is remanded or completing a sentence of imprisonment. The Red Cross works with the Far West Community Partnerships to improve outcomes and develop solutions for Aboriginal community members residing in Ceduna and the surrounding communities.

There are a number of other programs that the community hub provides, including hosting men's cooking and yarning days as well as walks and yarn days every Tuesday. I was informed that I had just missed out. I think I was there on a Wednesday, coinciding my visit with a community day that had recently passed with wood oven pizzas, which they cook out in the backyard at the community hub.

What was apparent to me from my visit was that the local community see that hub as an integral part of their life in Ceduna. Likewise, everyone at the community hub seemed plugged into local community and attentive to the needs of people in the area. The steady stream of Ceduna residents and those visiting, who stopped by during my visit to have a cup of tea and a biscuit or a chat with one of the service providers, was a testament to that.

The work of the Red Cross in this part of the world is now as important as it ever was as the community and those who serve the community continue to negotiate the great challenges imposed during the pandemic. The community hub is a testament to the power of community when it listens to the needs of Aboriginal people and the impact that can occur when the community comes together. I commend the good work that has been done and look forward to visiting in the future and their future endeavours.