Louise Markus (Macquarie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is with much appreciation that I rise today to speak on National Carers Week, a week when we say to all those carers, seen and unseen, how much we appreciate them—their time, their dedication and their selflessness—whether caring for a loved one, a neighbour or a friend. This week comes some 23 years after the first Carers Awareness Week in 1992 titled Carers Need Care Too!

With 2.7 million people in Australia who provide unpaid care and support to family members and friends, anyone at any time can be a carer. More than 1.5 million of these carers are of working age, with 520,000 carers over the age of 65. Some 300,000 carers are under the age of 24 and, surprisingly, 150,000 carers are under the age of 18. In New South Wales there are approximately 850,000 carers. Based on ABS 2011 Census data, there were some 13,637 people who were unpaid carers in the Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains in the electorate of Macquarie.

People require care for many reasons: illness, mental illness, challenges, addictions, recuperations from various kinds of illness, and, most importantly, disability. A report launched by Carers Australia here in Parliament House this August revealed that the replacement value of Australia's unpaid carers is $60.3 billion per year—some $1 billion every week. They do not want accolades for their selfless work, but this work is appreciated. (Time expired)