Tim Ayres (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Trade) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Gunida Gunyah Aboriginal Corporation is a community services and housing hub in Gunnedah, New South Wales. A few weeks ago, it opened its brand new premises in the middle of Conadilly Street in Gunnedah, and I was privileged to attend the opening. The corporation has taken an old pub and transformed it into a state-of-the-art community hub, making it the first Indigenous organisation to have premises in the town's main street.

I was lucky enough to have a tour of the hub. It is a shining achievement that sits proudly on the main street of Gunnedah—a credit to all involved. Gunida Gunyah have finished the bottom floor of this space, with frontline service spaces and office working areas and meeting rooms. Upstairs, they have created seven units that can be used for emergency transitional and crisis accommodation, mostly for women and children fleeing domestic and family violence. The space also hosts a commercial kitchen and training rooms, which the corporation will use for vocational training.

All in all, it is a shining example of integrated service delivery that addresses the many different factors that lead to homelessness—built by Aboriginal people in that wonderful town of Gunnedah. On top of this, Gunida Gunyah continue to run their tenancy services, administering hundreds of homes throughout north-western New South Wales. As I said, this is such an achievement for so many people. I congratulate the CEO, Jane Bender, and all those who have helped Gunida Gunyah become the thriving hub that it is. And I congratulate all those community sector workers who continue to work day after day, particularly in regional New South Wales, for some of our most vulnerable people.