Graham Perrett (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the motion put forward by the member for Scullin. I thank him for doing so, and the member for Berowra for supporting it in such a helpful way.

I'm proud to support this motion. In doing so, I also pay tribute to the work of the late British MP, the magnificent Mrs Jo Cox. Before her murder by a right-wing extremist, Jo worked tirelessly for her constituents in the north of England and was particularly concerned about the high incidence in her community of loneliness and isolation. The Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness was set up to tackle this problem.

I have been personally inspired by Jo's work and her legacy. I took her example and implemented my own grassroots campaign in my electorate of Moreton to practically combat the growing epidemic of social isolation and loneliness. My campaign, on a practical level, was called 'Say G'day in May', and I rolled it out last year. I spent six days walking the length and breadth of my electorate and walked over 60 kilometres in total, from Eight Mile Plains to Sunnybank, Tarragindi to Salisbury, Moorooka to Acacia Ridge, Yeronga to Moorooka, Tennyson to Oxley, and Kuraby to Sunnybank, on different days.

The aim of my 'Say G'day in May' campaign was to encourage people in my electorate to engage with their local community groups. I asked locals to come and walk with me and talk with me, meet with me at one of the stops along the way to have a coffee or come to a local community group. And they did, to dance—they showed me how to dance—to paint, to chat and to do all these different activities that they do; to build things in men's sheds, and all sorts of things. I connected people with local walking groups and other community groups—whatever piqued their interest and suited their time of life.

After the six days of walking and talking, I then pulled it all together to hold a community showcase event, asking every community group in my electorate to come along and have a stall to display their wares. It was an overwhelming success. New connections were made, and new members joined these community groups. The community groups loved the opportunity to connect with individuals and with the other groups; there was cross-pollination.

I'm continually asked whether there will be another 'Say G'day in May' this year. Unfortunately, I think there's something else happening in May this year, so I might have to do something else—maybe a 'Say Hi in July', if I'm re-elected! I believe that tackling social isolation and loneliness is best done from the ground up. Some great work has been done to try to understand just how much social isolation and loneliness impacts on the lives of Australians. The member of Scullin touched on that in his speech, as did the member for Berowra.

As co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Australian Red Cross group, I've worked closely with the Red Cross for many years now. They're doing some great work in the loneliness space. The Red Cross, in partnership with Swinburne University, has presented research findings revealing that the impact of loneliness is on par with other major health risks. They report that 60 per cent of Australians report feeling lonely often. Lacking social connections carries a similar risk to smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and even exceeds the risks of inactivity and obesity. The Red Cross have launched their campaign to encourage sporting clubs to get involved. More than 4,000 people across Australia have signed up to their hashtag #beatloneliness campaign to help fight this problem affecting more than half of the Australian population.

Relationships Australia have also done work in this area. They released their findings in September, finding that: one in 10 Australians lack social support; one in six experience emotional loneliness—that is, they don't have a sufficient number of meaningful relationships in their lives to sustain and nurture them, particularly through difficult times; poverty, unemployment and poor relationships are significantly associated with loneliness; and, not surprisingly, lonely people make greater use of our health system. None of these findings are surprising.

Relationships Australia are using their Neighbour Day this year to highlight the problem. The 2019 theme for Neighbour Day is, 'Loneliness—what neighbours can do to create connections'. Relationships Australia believes:

… it is critical that we reinvigorate our communities, get people to connect with their neighbours and, in doing so, drive a dent in loneliness.

I encourage everyone to support these great grassroots initiatives by the Red Cross and Relationships Australia. They are leading the way in combatting social isolation and loneliness—so that great combination of some of the comments made in the member for Berowra's speech and the member for Scullin's speech; research but also the grassroots and the great things that make a civil society.

If the good people of Moreton support me at the ballot box in May, I will do my bit. I'll roll out my local campaign again—it won't be 'Say G'day in May', but maybe 'Say Hi in July' or something else. I'll again be encouraging everyone on the Southside and all the wonderful local community groups to come and get involved in that walking process to make those connections. Often, the very first step is the hardest for a lonely person to take. If someone can take them through the door of their club, they can then start a whole lifetime of connections. This is all about promoting community engagement, and it benefits everyone. Again, I thank the member for Scullin and the member for Berowra for their contributions on this motion.

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