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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-10-29 Daily Xml
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Loneliness

The Hon. C. BONAROS (12:39): I move:

That the Social Development Committee inquire into and report on the impact of loneliness on the South Australian community, with particular reference to:

1. The prevalence and causes of loneliness within the South Australian community;

2. The effectiveness of current programs to improve social connection;

3. Opportunities for new local community groups which bring people together;

4. Opportunities for new programs and initiatives to address loneliness;

5. Cross-government and community coordination within outcomes framework to address loneliness; and

6. Any other relevant matters.

Given what I have just said, I could say that this is another example of government ignoring the will of this place. Members will recall that there was a motion that passed this place, with every expectation that there would now be an inquiry, an independent inquiry, into this issue of the prevalence of loneliness in South Australia. I have been involved in discussions with the government for I do not know how many months now, trying to land on how they will fulfil the will of this parliament in undertaking this inquiry.

I have been assured, on several occasions, of all the different things that we are looking at in terms of getting this off the board, and I am going to give a thanks to the Hon. Nat Cook, the minister responsible for this particular area, for working with me to try to ensure that. Sadly, it seems that the government does not think putting money behind an independent inquiry that they have no interest in, despite the implications it has on our health system, is a good use of public money.

I acknowledge that there is always more than one way to skin a cat, and I do thank the minister for her engagement with me on this issue and for trying to find another way to elevate this and perhaps actually provide some meat to the bone in terms of why another inquiry and body of work should be done post this inquiry. The position I have come to, which I have agreed to with the minister, is to not kick this down the road indefinitely—as we tend to do in here after giving commitments and then stepping away from them—but to ensure that something actually happens.

It is on that basis that we have collaboratively worked on an approach that would see this matter referred to the Social Development Committee. Let that committee do the initial body of work, be convinced by the evidence that is going to be provided by people who submit and provide that evidence to the committee and, hopefully, then get some more traction on what we know is an issue that has huge consequences in our community.

When I spoke to my original motion—and I am not going to do the same; I will refer members back to the original speech I gave—I spoke about the hard data and stats that indicate the impact of loneliness on our health system and on our budget overall is in the billions, that the impact on a person is the equivalent to smoking 17 cigarettes a day or of being over 50 or 60 per cent more likely to have a heart attack, and so forth. They are already there and validated.

There is very good reason and logic to take on board the impact that loneliness, and the severity of it, has on individuals in the community, has on their mental health and, by extension, then has on our mental health and health crisis. From a purely financial perspective, it makes no sense to me that we would not want to look into this issue just because of the cost savings that could be made.

I know there are agencies out there doing their level best, and I know that the minister responsible in this particular area is doing her level best to support and promote projects that deal with loneliness. The point of this is to not continue to have a minister begging Treasury for funds to be able to fulfil those projects, certainly not in the piecemeal approach we have done so to date.

The Social Development Committee would be a good starting point so that, as I said, we can actually substantiate some of the facts and figures and be convinced of the need to do further work in this, rather than kick this can down the road indefinitely and wait until—I do not know, wait until when—for the government actually to put some money behind an inquiry that they said they would support and would ensure happens. This is an alternative that will get things cracking straightaway, and it is on that basis that I ask honourable members to support it.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS: Mr President, I draw your attention to the state of the council.

A quorum having been formed: