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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-05-30 Daily Xml
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WARMINGTON, MS R.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (15:30): Last month I had the pleasure of representing the Premier, the Hon. Jay Weatherill MP, at the reception to celebrate the appointment of Ms Rosemary Warmington AM, CEO of Carers SA, as a member in the General Division of the Order of Australia Award.

Rosemary's wonderful achievement was in recognition of her service to the community of South Australia, particularly through advancing the recognition and rights of family carers and as an advocate for people with mental illness. My colleague, the Hon. Stephanie Key in the other place, was also present.

The reception was very well attended, with some 80-plus people present, including representatives from various carer organisations. It was a testament to the extent of respect and support that Rosemary has developed due to her tireless and unceasing efforts over the past 18 years. It was wonderful to see Rosemary's family present for the celebration: her husband Don McMaster, her children Simone and Shae, and their families, as well as her grandchildren, Calder and Ella.

All those who know Rosemary Warmington know of her many years of experience in government and community-based services, working across policy, funding and service delivery. She has also worked as a therapist and a worker in the delivery of front-line community and health services.

It should also be noted that Rosemary's work on behalf of carers extends well beyond her role as CEO of Carers SA. Rosemary is a leading and active participant in a number of groups that span across sectors, including mental health, disability, transport, ageing, young people, health and chronic illness and housing, including ministerial advisory committees.

Her service to the community includes being heavily involved in the development of the state government's Carers Policy 2009, and she was a member of the review committees for the Mental Health Act 2009 and the Health and Community Service Complaints Act 2004.

The raison d'être of Carers SA is to improve the lives of 220,000-plus family carers across the state and to provide important services, including counselling, advice, advocacy, education and training to carers. I would like to take the opportunity to quote Ms Wallent, President of Carers SA as follows:

Rosemary is tireless when it comes to fighting for the rights and wellbeing of family carers and people living with mental illness, and her appointment to the Order of Australia is extremely well deserved. Since 1993, she has been central to building Carers SA's state-wide representation of family carers. She has worked hard to ensure carers in regional South Australia have as much support as those in metropolitan areas and continues to do everything she can to improve the health, wellbeing, resilience and financial security of caring families.

In reading the message from the Premier, I commented that we are all aware that carers are the foundation of our current system of community care in Australia, and caring will affect most of us in our lifetime, either as a carer or as someone who is in need of care. We would all agree that the definition of a carer is infinite. They could be children, adults, older people and volunteers, and these carers provide care to partners, siblings, parents, sons, daughters, friends and neighbours.

Having been the state's first minister for mental health, I know firsthand of Rosemary's excellent work in this area, and I have always respected Rosemary's commitment and passion in her advocacy for carers. Again, I was not surprised to read in the Carers SA's media release that:

In recent years she (Rosemary) has led Carers SA to receive international recognition for its Supporting Carers of People with Mental Illness program at the Australian and New Zealand Mental Health Services Achievement Awards and the organisation also took out the Margaret Tobin Award for Excellence in the provision of mental health services in 2011.

In thanking me for attending on the day, Rosemary said that she hoped her award would generate more public interest and awareness, keep thoughts of carers and their needs active in the minds of those who manage funding and legislation, and allow carers to know that they are not forgotten. I know I am joined by all in the chamber in offering congratulations to Rosemary Warmington on her achievement in receiving the well-deserved recognition.

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