ADJOURNMENT

Ms WITTY (Melbourne) (11:17): It is National Carers Week, and, as a foster carer for many years, I want to start by thanking carers of all ages and backgrounds for their tireless and often thankless work. Even on the hardest days, I know you're doing a great job, and I want you to know that I see you. Across my time in parliament, I've met with many different versions of carers—people looking after kids in out-of-home care, families looking after their loved ones—with all sorts of challenges.

Even young people, kids, are looking after their parents and siblings. One organisation supporting young carers is Little Dreamers. Run by Madeleine Buchner, Little Dreamers was started because, as a young person, she had to care for her own family without the traditional supports of the adult carer system.

Growing up, Madeleine cared for her younger brother, who had a range of chronic illnesses, and her mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer. Without the pay, without the recognition and without the respite offered to others, she ensured her family were taken care of before she took care of herself. Hearing this story, I often think of what we're always asked to do when flying, which is to put on your own mask before helping others.

As a child, having to put on a mask on your family first means leaving behind the innocence of childhood long before you should. Little Dreamers was set up to support young people who are carers. Some are incredibly young.

I think of a nine-year-old boy who lives in Melbourne, who cares for his older sibling with an intellectual disability and supports his family in that care. Every day before school, he gets up, helps feed and dress his sibling and then does it himself. It is easy to look at this young person as selfless or compassionate but, as carers know, it is simply what you have to do to look after the ones you love.

While some of us in this place are lucky enough to not have ever experienced this, it is a version of the story I hear almost every day. This week in parliament, I stood up in front of the media to talk about the incredible work carers do, because their stories and their voices must be brought to the attention of this place. I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to my colleague and the current chair, the member for Canberra, for hosting a National Carers Week event here on Tuesday.

It was an incredible opportunity to speak with carers and to hear a few songs from the Alchemy Chorus, a group of carers who unite the community through song. As someone who has spent many years caring for kids and young people who need somewhere safe to call home, being in a space with so many other people who are doing the same work really brings home how important the support we can give is.

I am proud that it was the Albanese Labor government that brought back the National Carer Strategy last launched by the Gillard government and left to end without support by the former coalition government in 2015. The National Carer Strategy was created in partnership with carers and the care sector and reflects the needs highlighted by people with real lived experience.

Programs like Carer Gateway—to name just one—and its extended counselling sessions show that this government is committed to improving the lives of people who are improving the lives of those in most need. The government has funded an additional 10,000 counselling sessions each year through Carer Gateway, helping more than 1,600 additional carers. As the first three-year action plan comes to an end in 2027, I look forward to being a strong voice for carers as our government continues to stand up for them.

I finish by saying 'thank you'. Thank you to the foster carers, the kinship carers, the young people who do not see themselves as carers and the people who are looking after family members and loved ones. I see you, and I will always keep standing up for you.