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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, Second Session (53-2)
2015-02-26 Daily Xml
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BoysTown

Mr GEE (Napier) (15:51): I rise today to speak about a community organisation that is doing some fantastic work in my electorate to get people into homes and others into the workforce. I will also speak about the opening of a new pharmacy by a passionate community member.

BoysTown is a not-for-profit organisation that has completed great work across the nation, empowering young people through the provision of employment, training and support programs. BoysTown has completed successful projects in Port Pirie in South Australia and throughout the northern suburbs. BoysTown strives to:

advocate on behalf of and to support disadvantaged young people through education, counselling, peer support and preparation for employment;

develop programs for the improvement of the everyday lives of young people;

provide social welfare services to children, young people and their families experiencing social and economic disadvantage; and

relieve poverty, sickness, suffering, distress, misfortune or helplessness in the community.

Minister Bettison and I attended a ceremony to celebrate the completion of a home that young people from BoysTown had built in Munno Para last week. It was a family home in a normal suburban street but for a group of young men it was so much more. It was the culmination of months of learning, sweat and hard work. It was about giving young people a go to learn a trade and to improve their employment opportunities.

John, who has just finished his apprenticeship in carpentry by working with BoysTown for four years, gave me a tour of the home. John spoke about his pride for the work and his goals for the future, including looking to continue to learn while getting a full-time job in the industry. I spoke with a young chap named Chris who is looking for a painting apprenticeship, and Richard who is looking to get into civil construction. Both were very proud of their work on the new home, as was Josh who is looking for a start in hospitality.

I am going to keep in touch with these guys and see where the future takes them. It should be a bright future with 73 per cent of young people employed with BoysTown obtaining an ongoing job or going onto vocational training or education. This is not just good for the community but is life changing for these young people.

BoysTown is a great organisation that provides skills for young people in construction and landscape services, property maintenance, green enterprises, cabinetmaking and hospitality, as well as running the essential Kids Helpline.

I am sure this home, which is on the market, will be purchased very soon as Munno Para, like the whole north, is a great place for young people to invest in their families' future. It has good schools, lots of open space, quality health care and good facilities, and is just a short train ride from Adelaide. The north is becoming a place of choice for people to live, not a place where people are forced to live.

I am now going to talk about Zac Gadalla. Zac has been the local pharmacist in the Barossa for the last eight years, with pharmacies at Williamstown, Lyndoch and Gawler. About two years ago Zac approached UniHealth Playford, a medical and training centre run by the University of Adelaide, about opening a pharmacy at their medical centre in Munno Para. After two failed attempts and battling the federal government, the pharmacy opened in November last year.

The pharmacy was officially opened last week by federal member for Wakefield Nick Champion MP and is a welcome addition to the clinic, which would be one of the busiest in the north. When the medical practice opened there was one doctor in the local area and no local pharmacy. There was next to no housing at all in the new area of Munno Para. There are now over 1,000 homes, two schools, a service station, a gym, a vet, and food retailing outlets. A new shopping centre and town park will be completed by year's end, and so it is a very exciting time to be living in this electorate.

The UniHealth centre now has eight doctors, six nurses, three psychologists, and 11 other allied health professionals and sees about 50,000 visits per year. The addition of the pharmacy allows patients to see their doctors or a range of other allied health professionals, then attend the on-site pharmacy before returning home rather than making another trip to a pharmacy elsewhere. I thank Zac for the confidence that he has shown to invest in my electorate and provide critical services for an ever-growing area.

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