Nicolette Boele (Bradfield, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I take this opportunity to congratulate two very special constituents in my electorate of Bradfield—Turramurra residents Carolyn and David Stedman—on an extraordinary milestone. Carolyn and Dave are foster parents, and 2026 marks 50 years since they first welcomed a child into their home—and, now, they are fostering their 75th child. They have dedicated their lives to helping children of all ages by offering them a safe and loving place to call home. The couple currently fosters children through Wesley Mission's foster care program.

Jim O'Rourke, who reported on the milestone in the Manly Daily, quoted Mr Stedman as saying:

We are both Christian people … who have a good home, good health and a good family and we're just giving back to these people who have nothing.

According to Carers for Kids NSW, in New South Wales alone there are around 14,720 children and young people living in foster care or kinship care, of whom 45 per cent are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. In November last year the New South Wales government launched a statewide campaign urging people across New South Wales to change a child's life by becoming a foster carer. If there's anyone out there who has ever had an inkling that they might like to become carers of kids in need, I offer the incredible example of Carolyn and Dave Stedman as inspiration.