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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-10-19 Daily Xml
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National Carers Week

The Hon. N.F. COOK (Hurtle Vale—Minister for Human Services) (15:16): Happy National Carers Week, and a big naa marni to everybody in the gallery today. It is a time to thank and recognise the really important role of carers. That role is so diverse in its nature. In a broad sense, carers provide unpaid support to friends, to family, to people they love, to neighbours, to people that they recognise need a bit of extra support. This might be practical help in terms of everyday tasks, but in the main it is emotional support—it helps with the wellbeing of people in the community who, without that, would be isolated and left quite vulnerable.

The vital role is undertaken in our state by about one-quarter of a million unpaid carers. If we want to be economic about it, it saves millions and millions of dollars to the community in terms of health and other support needs that would otherwise have to be funded. But importantly, as carers, it helps to show people that they are loved and respected. You do not have to look far to find a carer. They can be hard to pick because there is no badge and no label, but if you look very carefully you can just see excellent people doing wonderful things.

There are a number of carers in the gallery today. The organisations have been acknowledged. Of course, I work very closely with Carers SA, and CEO David Militz and chair Phil Martin are here representing and supporting people. As the member for Flinders said, The Carer Project is also very important because it is a different form of care and support for highly vulnerable young people: foster and kinship carers. I know that the Minister for Child Protection has recently started establishing a care council for particularly that cohort in order to help represent it better.

Lucy Hood, member for Adelaide, and Heidi Girolamo from the other place, I look forward to supporting you as you embark on having your Friends of Carers in parliament. It is a really important role and I look forward to supporting both of you to do that. I would like to take the opportunity to note that we are now undertaking a review of the Carers Recognition Act for the first time in more than 10 years, so please have your say on YourSAy or email: carersactreview@sa.com.au to play a part.

Around 30,000 or so young carers play a huge role. I would just like to acknowledge one from my area a bit more personally. I am unable to personally acknowledge Ayla, because Ayla would love to have joined us but she is a young carer for her beautiful little brother and they go horseriding at this time. There is no way she would be allowed to not do that role, so that is much more important.

Ayla's baby brother was born with a number of significant health challenges and additional needs. Ayla was not just making sure her mum had enough Chux towels—and we know what they are. She soon was helping to change nappies and later helping to prepare brekkie and lunch for her little brother. She has additional responsibilities in this. She is not just an extra set of hands but she is a second set of eyes and ears. When her friends come over, Ayla does not ask her little brother to leave the room; she includes him in all the things they do, even the complex homework I am told, and they do that together. He wants to play and receive attention at that time, but I am told Ayla would not do anything else.

Caring can be incredibly hard work but there can also be incredible joy. Ayla's brother is easy to love. He is one of the sweetest, cutest, kindest most polite little men I have ever met. He has such a sensitive heart. He is going to do amazing things in part just because of his own tenacity, but also because of Ayla. He is learning albeit a little bit slower than his mates, but Ayla has been teaching him to make toast, showing him the routine required to get out the bread and the butter, and put the bread in the toaster and do all those things. He is learning in a patient, caring and loving way in a way that only a sibling can provide. I look forward to further interrogating the siblings' report that I also have started to read.

I think Ayla is a Levi interpreter—Levi is his name—ensuring he is following conversations when they are a little bit more complex or when people use the inflection in their voice that makes it hard for Levi to work out what they are saying. She translates back when required.

Ayla is now a teenager. She does not actively share her role as a carer. In fact, as mentioned, she would perceive herself as just playing with and loving her brother as a sister does. But she is a young carer. She cares for her brother, and this care is imperative in his wellbeing—not just for Levi but the entire family. So I commend Ayla and the many other young carers who contribute to their community all in a deep and meaningful way. I thank all carers for what you all do every day, and I look forward to continuing to work with you to make caring an easier thing to do.

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