Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) 15 to 21 October 2017 is National Carers Week and that it is estimated that there are 2.7 million carers who provide care and support to a family member or friend with a disability, mental illness, chronic condition, terminal illness, or who is frail aged in Australia; and

(b) the theme for National Carers Week is 'Carers Count';

(2) acknowledges the significant contribution that carers make to the Australian community, saving the nation an estimated $60 billion per year; and

(3) recognises the incredible sacrifices carers make and the challenges they face including fewer employment options and a restricted capacity to participate in community life.

As one of the co-conveners of Parliamentary Friends of Carers, I'm very pleased to be moving this motion today. National Carers Week is the time to recognise the millions of Australian carers who work tirelessly for no pay every day to make other people's lives better. It's a time to reflect on the contribution that carers make not just to the people that they care for and their families but to our community and our society as a whole. It's also a time to acknowledge the sacrifices that carers make to fulfil their caring responsibilities and the impact those ongoing sacrifices have on their personal and professional lives.

Last week, events were held in cities and towns across Australia to honour our carers. In my home city of Newcastle, the Carers Action Network held a morning tea which, unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend, as parliament was sitting and I was here in Canberra. But another Newcastle event hosted by mental health carers, ARAFMI, was also held in my area to give heartfelt thanks to the local mental health carers in our region. This year, the theme of National Carers Week is Carers Count—a very fitting title when you consider how much we rely on not only the unpaid work that carers do but also the sheer quantum of their contribution. In fact, there are 2.7 million unpaid carers in Australia, and together they spend a total of 36 million hours caring for families or friends each year. The carer contribution is even higher in the regions, with unpaid carers living in rural areas of Australia spending 11 more hours each week undertaking their caring responsibilities than do their urban counterparts. All this unpaid work is worth an estimated $60 billion per year. It is an astonishing amount of money. When you consider that the federal government spends less than $10 billion each year on higher education and less than $11 billion each year on assistance to the unemployed and sick, you start to get a picture of what a truly massive contribution carers make to Australia.

Today, I'd like to give my heartfelt appreciation to carers across the country. I would also like to acknowledge the personal sacrifices that carers make and the impacts that these responsibilities can have on their lives. Too often, carers are so busy looking after other people that they don't get their needs met. This is borne out by findings of a recent international survey of carers commissioned by Merck. The report of this survey, entitled Embracing carers, was released this month. It offered some telling insights into the experience of Australian carers, and it confirmed that carers continue to face enormous challenges in many areas of their lives. For example, almost half of the Australian carers surveyed said they don't have time to book or attend medical appointments for themselves; 59 per cent said they don't have time to exercise; and almost 40 per cent said their caring responsibilities had put pressure on their own finances. We also need to recognise that carers experience barriers to employment that people without caring responsibilities just don't face. Only 56 per cent of primary carers of working age participate in the workforce, compared to 80 per cent of noncarers.

All of these challenges can take a heavy mental and emotional toll. Sadly, just over half of Australian unpaid carers who were surveyed said they felt they needed medical care or support for a mental health condition as a result of their caring responsibilities. This is a very disturbing finding that we in this place should pay serious attention to. While carers give so much of themselves to family and friends, their communities and our society, it's clear that too often they are not getting the support they need in return. National Carers Week is an important time to raise awareness about the challenges that carers face in so many parts of their lives. It's the perfect time to talk about how we, both as legislators and as community members, can help address this. The message for National Carers Week is clear: anyone, at any time, can find themselves becoming a carer.

I want to pay special tribute to the 272,000 young carers—people aged under 25—who are caring for a parent, partner, sibling, child, relative or friend. It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure that carers have access to the support they need.

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