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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-10-29 Daily Xml
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Adelaide Hills Dementia Carers Social Support Group

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (12:33): I move:

That this house—

(a) acknowledges the vital role of the Adelaide Hills Dementia Carers Social Support Group in providing peer-led support, guidance, and social connection for current and former carers of people living with dementia across the Adelaide Hills region;

(b) recognises the importance of lived experience in helping carers navigate the emotional and practical challenges of dementia care, and the value of regular gatherings that reduce isolation and foster community resilience;

(c) commends the group's inclusive approach, welcoming new members and offering flexible meeting options across various Hills locations, including coffee mornings and meal-based gatherings; and

(d) encourages ongoing community and local government support for grassroots initiatives like this, which strengthen the wellbeing of carers and contribute meaningfully to dementia-friendly communities.

The characteristics that are the subject of the motion are all central to the excellent work of the Adelaide Hills Dementia Carers Social Support Group. As is appropriate when recognising the leading work of a group, that comes with important leadership, and Vern Marshall should be recognised for his important leadership in that group. Among other things, the group has come along to be present at ageing well forums that I have hosted in Heysen, which are always well attended, covering a whole range of practical and useful subject matter over the years.

What has been quite telling and moving is that the Adelaide Hills Dementia Carers Social Support Group has been at the centre of increasing interest from those who are otherwise quietly coming along to attend a wideranging forum. I think what is still underappreciated is that, in a world in which we have evermore sophisticated formal and clinical means of addressing chronic clinical matters, which is tremendous, and medical science continues to advance, in this area we so often need to reflect on the personal, the private, the informal and unheralded loving and caring support that is provided by those closest to those who find themselves suffering with dementia, and that is exactly what this group sets out to do.

The Adelaide Hills Dementia Carers Social Support Group is an exemplar of so many group efforts in this regard. I want to make very clear that this work that is provided by carers is not always and perhaps rarely something that finds its way into the public spotlight, so finding ways to provide support can be more complex than it might appear, just looking out to find those who are in need.

To provide an indication of how the group goes about its work, as well as all the ordinary ways, it is working towards making more relatable the challenges that dementia sufferers and those who care for them are going through. They make sure to provide a social and supportive opportunity to meet in a whole variety of different places, to tell stories, to share a laugh and to provide the opportunity for people to be in company with others who are going through similar circumstances. Carers can bring along those they are caring for. They meet regularly. They have opportunities for people to drop in, as well as organised opportunities for meals and sharing of food and drink in that way.

There is a group that meets at Strathalbyn and there is a group that meets at the community centre at Mount Barker as well. That perhaps gives an indication of how far and wide throughout the Hills this support group is having an impact. In the course of doing this, there is a real learning and appreciation of the developments on the clinical side and also the practical and complex challenges that are being faced by those who find themselves with someone important in their life suffering with dementia.

By meeting and providing support in this way, the group's intent is to reduce what is otherwise perhaps a natural tendency towards isolation and going it alone in terms of the challenges that are being felt. While the group is certainly one of many such informal endeavours, it might provide a means by which the house can appreciate what is necessarily going along, in an allied way, with the formal and clinical investments and work that are being made on the health side.

Having mentioned the meeting point at Strathalbyn, it is important to highlight that one of those formal measures of public investment in the health side that serves as an exemplar—and one that both I and the member for Hammond are extremely proud of—is the investment of the Marshall Liberal government, under the leadership of minister the Hon. Stephen Wade MLC as Minister for Health, and the commitment to the expansion of the aged-care facility at Strathalbyn. This was a generational extension/expansion investment in health and wellbeing at Strathalbyn.

The memory support unit that is part of that expanded facility is world-leading. It is deliberately recognising that chronic suffering of dementia and dealing with the means by which to best address the day to day, maximise wellbeing, and ensure that all can be done to assist and support people in the clinical environment are front and centre in terms of aged care. It is demonstrated there by the aged-care facility at Strathalbyn. There were significant improvements that took place in 2021 and, of course, there was the expansion—an additional 24 beds—that was completed right at the beginning of 2022. In a motion that is recognising the informal support that the Adelaide Hills Dementia Carers Social Support Group provides, it is important to reflect on that necessary and important investment that takes place in terms of state support.

It is perhaps a moment as well, talking about the aged-care facility at Strath, to mention one of the more famous residents, a dear friend to many in this place, the stalwart of Strathalbyn, the living legend of South Australia and indeed the nation: the celebrated artist David Dridan. Every day he is just full of joy and colour and life. It is with a real sense of humility and pride for me to these days not be dropping in to see him at his home of decades just down the road but at his home now at the aged-care facility at Strath. That is something that I am sure, as he is proud of Steven Marshall's achievements in government, Steven Marshall and Minister Wade, along with me and many, are proud to see that this is a facility that has found its way supporting David in the way that it does.

In bringing the house's attention to the work of just one group that works throughout the Adelaide Hills to support those living with dementia and, alongside that, to remind us of the need to invest on the clinical and aged-care support side, the motion is really highlighting what hopefully can be a model that is useful broadly throughout the state. We know that dementia is a condition that is going to be well and truly at the forefront of our response to health needs over the time ahead, so I congratulate the Adelaide Hills Dementia Carers Social Support Group on that important work and certainly encourage others to look out for using it as a model for what might be further extended throughout our community. I commend the motion.

Ms THOMPSON (Davenport) (12:46): I move to amend the motion as follows:

After paragraph (d) insert new paragraphs (e) and (f):

(e) notes that the Malinauskas government has introduced the Carers Recognition (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2025, aimed at modernising and expanding the scope of the recognition framework to ensure it is more inclusive and accountable; and

(f) recognises the South Australian government's ongoing commitment to supporting grassroots and community groups through grant rounds, enabling them to continue their valuable and impactful work across the state.

The government supports recognition of the Adelaide Hills Dementia Carers Social Support Group for the vital role it plays in our community. Carers are the quiet backbone of our society, providing essential support to loved ones, friends and community members, often at great personal cost and without the recognition they deserve. It is essential that carers have opportunities to connect with others who understand their experiences, offer meaningful social connection and share knowledge and insights across the spectrum of caring.

The government recognises that the act of caring can have significant impacts on a person's health and wellbeing, employment, financial security and social connection. That is why we have introduced the Carers Recognition (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2025, a reform designed to modernise and strengthen the existing act. This legislation improves carers' ability to self-identify and ensures that they are better supported, acknowledged and empowered in their roles. We also recognise the critical role grassroots community groups play in responding to local and place-based needs. These groups are often the first to offer support, connection and practical help. To ensure their sustainability, the government offers a range of grant programs, both one-off and recurring, designed to support initiatives just like this.

I commend the member for Heysen for bringing forward this motion and for the recognition of the Adelaide Hills Dementia Carers Social Support Group. It is through efforts like these that we continue to build a more inclusive, supportive and resilient South Australia.

Mr TEAGUE (Heysen—Deputy Leader of the Opposition) (12:48): I rise, therefore, to close the debate. I welcome the government's support for the motion. While paragraphs (e) and (f) as just set out by the member for Davenport are news to me—and I have endeavoured to note them as I have heard them, as it were—I did not hear anything that I would have any particular difficulty with. It might have been helpful to have some notice of that, but I otherwise appreciate the member for Davenport's contribution to the debate and support for the contents of the motion. I thank the house for the opportunity for that to be heard and I commend the motion.

Amendment carried; motion as amended carried.