Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was delighted last week to welcome the Prime Minister to my electorate to visit Wooloowin House, run by Youngcare in the heart of my electorate of Brisbane. Youngcare is an amazing community organisation whose mission is to provide suitable housing for young Australians with high care needs. I've been really proud to be a strong supporter of Youngcare ever since I was elected to this place. In fact, just a fortnight ago I was running in the Bridge to Brisbane fun run to raise awareness for Youngcare as part of a group of about a dozen or so Brisbane residents, all of us emblazoned in Youngcare T-shirts. It's an understatement to say that Youngcare absolutely transforms the lives of the young residents who live in its homes. Too many young Australians with high care needs are being left behind, living in inappropriate and at times unacceptable housing.

When the Prime Minister entered Wooloowin House, the excitement among the residents there was palpable. They were really proud to welcome us into their home. Wooloowin House is a beacon for compassion, for independence and for freedom. I'll continue to advocate for the opportunities presented by the specialist disability accommodation funding under the NDIS. SDA funding, done right, will stimulate the investment we need to see in the development of new, high-quality homes for use by high-care-needs individuals such as those that we met at Wooloowin House. The successful rollout of the NDIS is creating more choice for young people with high care needs and their loved ones. I just want to make the point in passing that there are few people in Australia who have done as much as Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister, has to ensure that the National Disability Insurance Scheme is fully funded. Wooloowin House is a wonderful project, and I'm sure we'll see many more, similar success stories into the future thanks to Youngcare and their many generous supporters.

Youngcare was one of 30 stallholders present at my recent Brisbane Seniors Expo a few weeks back, raising awareness of their cause there. The Seniors Expo we held in Brisbane was highly successful. It brought together seniors, retirees and other people from right across Brisbane, with a range of information and service providers all in one place. We were blown away by the number of people—hundreds of people—who attended this community event. It was packed full of useful information, entertainment and good tips about healthy and active living. I think a highlight for attendees was being treated to a visit by Aussie music legend Normie Rowe, as well as the former Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Sallyanne Atkinson, and that finance guru we all love, Noel Whittaker. The feedback from Brisbane residents was overwhelmingly positive, but I have to say there was a lot of consistent concern and anxiety expressed by those present about the prospect of Labor's proposed tax changes to franking credits and the unfair consequences and impacts that that will have on retirees, including in Brisbane. I look forward to holding another seniors expo in the future and building on the success of this year's events.