Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

For over 60 years, Meals on Wheels has played such an important role in the lives of thousands of Australians. In the course of a year, over 10 million meals are delivered by some 75,000 volunteers to more than 120,000 recipients all over the country. In my electorate of Hindmarsh alone, hundreds and hundreds of people receive Meals on Wheels every year. In Hindmarsh, these meals are delivered by around 425 wonderful, exceptional, fantastic volunteers, who volunteer their time and service. I want to take a moment to commend the marvellous volunteers and the wonderful people who run Meals on Wheels in my electorate, in the branches of Henley and Grange, Edwardstown, Glenelg and West Torrens.

People rely on this service for good, nutritious food, but, when these volunteers deliver food, they do more than just that. They check on the wellbeing of their clients. They provide a smile, a chat and some companionship. Sometimes they are the only person to have contact with them from the outside world. Meals on Wheels is all about people in the community joining forces to help others. Importantly, Meals on Wheels helps make it possible for people to stay in their homes, where they are happiest and can enjoy some independence. This is such a vital service.

I have been approached by many of the Meals on Wheels branches and their volunteers in Hindmarsh. They are scared that the changes being implemented by the federal government will mean that fewer people will be able to receive this very essential service. They are also concerned that the cost of the service may rise. They are calling on a commitment from the federal government for long-term financial sustainability for their organisation—to be able to plan forward and know what the future holds for them and to be able to continue to support their clients with meals and the delivery of meals. I join them in this. I have written to the minister, expressing these sentiments and asking for more support for the Meals on Wheels branches around Australia that service our community.

The federal government needs to stop expecting our most vulnerable people to contribute more and more in order to pay for the $65 billion tax cut it wants to give to the big end of town, to the big businesses. It needs to start supporting those people who need it most. Some of those people are the most vulnerable in our community. As I said, Meals on Wheels volunteers are sometimes the only contact someone receives from the outside world, sometimes the first contact when something has gone wrong, and sometimes they are the very first people that will contact authorities when someone is ill or not doing too well. We need to support them. We need to do all that we can to ensure that they are funded properly to continue doing the great work that they do in the communities of all of our electorates. I am sure all of us meet with many wonderful volunteers that serve Meals on Wheels and we want to see them continue in doing that.