Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

When Western Australia is strong, Australia is strong. But strength takes many forms. Sometimes strength is kindness; sometimes strength is about listening, and sometimes calling for help takes strength. That spirit was on display when federal cabinet visited WA. There were many visits that happened, which was phenomenal, and it was such a special moment to see some of the amazing ways that this Albanese Labor government is tangibly changing the lives of so many people.

One of the highlights was the minister for the NDIS, who visited an organisation called Healthy Strides in East Victoria Park. It's a success story in WA, born from the vision of a woman called Dr Dayna Pool, who created a centre where kids with neurological conditions and other disabilities don't just access Australian-leading therapy; they access world-leading therapy. Her first participant was a boy with cerebral palsy, who is now a teenager. He spoke to the minister through his text-to-speech device and described the different therapy he was accessing and how the supports of the NDIS and Healthy Strides made his life so fabulous. He also talked about the death of his mother and how challenging that was but also how he was able to have the strength to continue to do his therapy and be an incredible young man, as it gave him the chance to do more for himself and participate more fully in life. One of the things that he talked about was how his mum just always said yes, as opposed to saying no, which I think is fantastic. We saw the power of scientific innovation and compassion and why the NDIS matters.

The Minister for Social Services and the Assistant Treasurer joined me in my electorate at Advocare, the state's peak body for seniors, and we hosted a roundtable on financial abuse—an issue that is often hidden but has devastating impacts. We continued to have a conversation that began last term, which started the financial abuse inquiry that I instigated. It's more than listening; we're actually acting as well. We're doing so much work in this area, which includes reforms so that victims-survivors aren't left with Centrelink debts caused by perpetrators, and we are also boosting frontline support for victims-survivors.

This week we saw that the government announced a $42 million increase for 1800RESPECT. This is because we know that this is a support line that so many people need, and we want to make sure that we continue to make a tangible difference to the lives of people across Australia and Swan.

Colin Boyce (Flynn, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

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