STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mr NG (Menzies) (13:43): It was a privilege today to co-host a joint event between Parliamentary Friends of Housing and Parliamentary Friends of Mental Health, along with the member for Fisher, in collaboration with Homelessness Australia and Mental Health Australia. I'd particularly like to acknowledge Brina, a lived-experience advocate who has overcome significant mental health challenges with the help of an innovative program by Common Ground Queensland that provided housing and tenancy and mental health supports.

She shared how having a stable home with wraparound supports helped her to better care for her children, overcome substance abuse issues and get back on her feet. Her story demonstrates a simple but profound truth: having a stable home is not something that's separate from health and wellbeing. Rather, it is central to it.

Housing security is the critical foundation that enables a healthy and fulfilling life. I want to thank the Minister for Housing, Homelessness and Cities for joining us, for your leadership in this space and for your openness to ongoing dialogue, as well as all the parliamentarians who came along for taking the time to hear how we can solve these separate but intertwined problems.

I also want to thank Kate Colvin from Homelessness Australia and Carolyn Nikoloski from Mental Health Australia for bringing together so many dedicated experts and advocates from across the sector. These are the kinds of programs that do not always make headlines but they change lives every single day. To Brina, Kate and Carolyn and to everyone working on the front lines of homelessness and mental health, thank you for what you do.