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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-10-28 Daily Xml
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Carers SA Awards

Ms HILDYARD (Reynell) (15:44): Over the past few weeks, South Australia has participated in Mental Health Week, Carers Week and Anti-Poverty Week and, during that time, we also marked World Homelessness Day and World Mental Health Day. I had the pleasure of attending numerous events during these weeks: the Mental Health Coalition launch breakfast, the World Mental Health Day Festival of Now, Grow's Speak Up events, the Carers SA awards ceremony, the Hawke Centre's Anti-Poverty Week debate, Lutheran Community Care's Vision for the Future Breakfast, and the opening of Shelter SA's Homelessness, Health and Housing Expo.

At each of those events, I acknowledged the deep interconnectedness between mental illness, unemployment, homelessness and poverty, and the selfless role that family carers play and the role played by dedicated workers employed by the organisations represented in making a real difference with and for our community, particularly those community members affected by mental illness and their carers.

This year, Mental Health Week focused on breaking down stigma associated with mental illness and asking community members about their mental health, with three key themes underpinning the week: thinking about how we can help one another; encouraging people to seek assistance; and asking ourselves what we can do to look after our own mental wellbeing. Being successful in each of those areas requires all of us to talk about mental health with others.

The Grow SA's event theme of speaking up was a powerful one and one I hope we continue every week of every year, and I strongly believe that we must. To remove stigma, to encourage everyone to speak about mental health and to improve our community's mental health, we must speak up and, in doing so, empower the voice of those in our community who are disenfranchised through mental illness.

We must speak up because last year 3,303 Australians took their own life. One in five people now experience mental illness and 489,000 Australians experience severe mental illness. The vast majority of those people access the disability support pension and are far less likely than other Australians to access secure employment, more likely to be homeless and consistently find it difficult to connect with services. Their family carers, without doubt, have the toughest job in the country. They are anywhere in age from 10 to 100. They are tough, resilient and courageous, but they often struggle with their own wellbeing and levels of stress.

When thinking about carers, I thought about two very special women I know who have undertaken caring responsibilities for decades. One is my mum, who is 73 and who has been the principal carer for my younger sister for the past 25 years. The other is my dear friend Olive, who lives in Reynell, who is 90. She has cared for her 60-year-old son, who is affected by a disability, for his entire life.

I thought about these women because, as well as showing incredible generosity and endurance through caring, they are fierce advocates for people affected by mental illness, people affected by disabilities and for other carers. As well as caring for their children, they have fought for decades for the rights of fellow community members and those who look after them. They are a tough duo who, in their time, have left many public figures quaking in their boots. They are extraordinary but not invincible. Sometimes things are hard. They are able to continue to do what they do because of organisations such as Carers SA and others which proactively care for carers. These organisations give these two and thousands of others respite, empathy, support, encouragement to carry on, and the ability to be part of a strong group of advocates whose collective voice can be heard.

The Carers SA awards were about acknowledging 250,000 South Australian carers and those who care for them. They gave recognition to the many individuals and organisations which make a positive difference to the life of carers every day across every area of our great state. Carers must be provided with support so that they can lead the life most of us take for granted, whether it is about working in paid employment, having a sense of independence, time to do things for themselves or having a social life.

We know from listening to carers that the caring role can often overtake just about everything else in their life, but we also know that organisations, employers and community groups, such as those represented at the carers awards, do much to enrich their life and to give them hope. Congratulations to Carers SA and their CEO, Rosemary Warmington, on these important awards and on their enduring leadership in supporting carers in South Australia.

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