Dean Smith (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Before returning to Canberra this week, I had the privilege of attending an open day at Tuart Place in Fremantle, of which I am a very proud patron. For many west Australians who experienced institutional care as children, it is a place of belonging, recognition and understanding. Yesterday's gathering at 24 High Street, Fremantle, marked a particularly special achievement and a moment of great relief. Senators might recall me speaking in this place, a number of years ago, about the uncertainty about the premises of Tuart Place. I'm pleased to say that, after a few years of very strong advocacy, Tuart Place will remain in its home on High Street in Fremantle—a home that has become so important to the community that it serves.

Tuart Place is Western Australia's leading support service for care leavers—people who spent part of their childhood in orphanages, missions, foster homes or other institutions. Many carry lifelong trauma from neglect, abuse or displacement. What Tuart Place offers is something that cannot easily be replicated. It provides a community.

The organisation has a remarkable history. In 2007, a group of care leavers established Forgotten Australians Coming Together, or FACT, the governing body of Tuart Place. Among them was Laurie Humphreys JP, a former child migrant and resident of Bindoon. His vision was simple but powerful—a drop-in centre where care leavers could find company, dignity and support. That vision evolved into Tuart Place, formally launched in 2012 following collaboration between FACT, social work professionals and the CBERS Redress Service already operating in Fremantle at that time. Together, they developed a best practice model of trauma informed support, a genuine one-stop-shop providing counselling, advocacy and practical assistance for survivors. Today, Tuart Place supports more than 500 people. Many are former child migrants from the United Kingdom or Malta. Others are members of the stolen generations or Australians who grew up in state institutions.

What makes Tuart Place especially powerful is that it is not simply a service for care leavers. It is governed and shaped by them. As board member Margo O'Byrne observed yesterday, many volunteers bring professional experience and expertise in governance, law or social work, but they also bring what she described as 'degrees in survival'. These are people who endured extraordinary hardship as children yet, today, are leading governance, advocacy and support for others rebuilding their lives. Through Tuart Place, care leavers have contributed to royal commissions, Senate inquiries and international investigations into institutional abuse. Their advocacy has helped shape policy, including reforms ensuring redress payments are not counted as assets when entering aged care.

The continuation of this work has not always been secure. In 2022, Tuart Place was told it would have to leave its longstanding premises at 24 High Street. For many organisations, relocation would be inconvenient. But, for Tuart Place, it was more serious than that, because the building was far more than just a venue for the community that gathers there. The director of Tuart Place, Dr Philippa White, put it best when she said that the organisation could relocate to a small office with counselling rooms and a reception desk, but what would be lost is everything that has grown there over many years, which is a familiarity and a safety that people have come to rely on.

For many, it is a place of return and a place where survivors feel comfortable enough to share experiences they may have carried silently for decades. The prospect of losing that stability understandably caused deep distress among participants—many of whom experienced multiple displacements in their childhood. Yet I'm pleased to say the community rallied. Survivors spoke up, and staff and volunteers worked tirelessly to find a solution. Then an extraordinary act of generosity secured the future of Tuart Place at its historic home. In August last year, the building was purchased by Tim and Leonie Baldock, who recognised the significance of what was happening there and ensured Tuart Place could remain there on a long-term lease.

By preserving a building, they have also preserved a community. Stability matters deeply in trauma recovery. Knowing the place you trust will still be there next year, the year after that and the year after that is profoundly important. As patron, it's a pleasure to continue my advocacy for this remarkable institution, for all that it represents and for all those that it has come to care for. For people who spent their childhoods without security or belonging, Tuart Place has become something deeply meaningful. It's a safe place. It's a welcoming place. For many, quite simply, it is their home. We are so very, very deeply grateful for this remarkable act of generosity by Tim and Leonie Baldock, and we thank them from the depths of our hearts.