Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Kangaroo Island in my electorate is a hidden gem. I think it's one of Australia's best kept secrets. It has a population of around 5,000 people and is quite a large island, around 4½ thousand square kilometres. To put that into context, it is around 150 kilometres by about 50 kilometres in depth. It is a remote place to live. When Mayor Michael Pengilly let me know last week that Centrelink services would be stopping on the island because the current agent Mobo notified Services Australia that they would be ceasing the Kangaroo Island contract this coming Friday, I really sprang into action. I would particularly like to thank the Minister for Social Services for being so open and for helping us to provide a solution to this, because Centrelink services, when you are in a remote location, when you are on an island, when you can't just drive to the next Centrelink service, are incredibly important.

I wanted to notify the people on Kangaroo Island what's happening, so I immediately wrote to the minister and said, 'What can we do to fix some issues here and make sure that we can continue Services Australia services on the island?'—noting that we have a very elderly population, and, as I said, a very remote population. Now, Services Australia will shortly be putting out communication materials to the KI community about the process and how they can best support people. Services Australia will be sending a specialist team to the island between 22 and 26 June, with an aged-care specialist officer and a financial service information officer, to support people face-to-face. This is going to be a critical and important service, and I thank the minister and the minister's team for helping us. It will not be a mobile service centre. It's really important to note that while, typically, those buses that come into town only stay a day or two, they will be staying for the entirety of the week while we work on a more permanent solution.

Services Australia will also be consulting with the community about future needs—what having Centrelink and Services Australia services there on the island should look like. So we're going to be doing everything we can to see what flexibility there is to maybe provide some interim services while the next services stand up after the Mobo contract.

Again, I would particularly like to acknowledge the mayor, Michael Pengilly, for reaching out to me, also Minister Katy Gallagher, and their great work in trying to ensure that we have a continuity of services on Kangaroo Island.