Smoking Ceremony for Homeless Program

Jessica Rapana | Wentworth Courier | May 20, 2015

Caretakers Cottage has launched its youth homelessness program with an indigenous smoking ceremony. Partnered with the Ted Noffs Foundation and Community Services NSW, the organisation provides accommodation, support and after-care services to young people across East and South East Sydney under the Going Home, Staying Home program.

Caretakers Cottage manager Aliki Filis said youth homelessness was more prevalent in the east than people thought. “People assume that it’s a poverty issue and that it doesn't affect wealthy families,” she said. “It’s beyond status and it’s beyond money.”

About 20 per cent of NSW homeless live in Sydney’s inner and eastern suburbs, and about 22 per cent are under 18.

Most often kids arrived at the refuge due to family breakdowns, mental health issues or drug and alcohol issues, Ms Filis said. About one third were of Aboriginal descent and many local to the eastern suburbs, she said. “We are virtually always full, it’s very hard for kids to get in here,” she said. “We probably only accommodate a third to a half of the kids who actually ring because we don’t have the beds.”

Additional funding would assist with a new early intervention program working with families before it had reached “crisis point”.

© 2015 Wentworth Courier

Youths Without Roofs

Saja Hassan & Josephine Rebeiro | The Eastsider | February 3, 2015

A homeless person is someone who is without a conventional home. This person is usually cut off from the support of family and friends, lacks independent resources and has little prospect of self-support. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, young people aged between 12-18 years are the largest group experiencing homelessness.

Homelessness is not just a housing problem. The causes are varied and include family breakdown, long-term unemployment, substance abuse and mental health issues.

Young people who are homeless face a number of difficulties, including a violation of their right to adequate housing, education, liberty, freedom and privacy. Young people experiencing homelessness may lack social security, connection with family, friends and community. Their health and safety may also be at risk.

Caretakers Cottage provides a range of specialist child, teenage and young peoples’ services across the East and South East region of Sydney. Caretakers Cottage services also offer a unique program of accommodation, support and after-care services to reduce homelessness and provide opportunities for stable and independent transition into adulthood.

We spoke to the CEO of Caretakers Cottage Laurie Matthews to gain some insight into what’s provided at the cottage. Laurie said, “our main service is to provide ongoing family counseling to mend the relationship between the youth and their family… because they live with the decision for the rest of their lives if they don’t give it another try.”

When asked how many people enter the Cottage on a monthly basis, Laurie said “we take in only ten people at a time so we can provide the right amount of time and services for each person. We hope to get them out of here within three months”. Laurie added that Caretakers Cottage provided some accommodation for young people in the Sutherland Shire and Bondi at a cost of 60 dollars per week, which is 20 percent of their income support payment.

We discussed the major causes of youth homelessness with Laurie. Laurie added, “Mental health is a major cause. We also deal with people who have been abused, dealing with family issues and people who are taking drugs.” Laurie went on to explain that good communication between family members is important when helping a young person get back on their feet.

Youth homelessness is a complex issue with varied causes. Organisations such as Caretakers Cottage help to provide long-term solutions for affected young people. It is essential that our youth get all the support they can to access stable and safe accommodation. Homelessness is something we should make history in a country as wealthy as ours.

© The Eastsider 2015

Who Cares for the Under 16s?

Laurie Matthews | Caretakers Cottage | March 2014

Laurie Matthews, CEO Caretakers Cottage

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PERSONS (CARE AND PROTECTION) ACT 1998, SECTION 228: Neglect of children and young persons: A person, whether or not the parent of the child or young person, who, without reasonable excuse, neglects to provide adequate and proper food, nursing, clothing, medical aid or lodging for a child or young person in his or her care, is guilty of an offence.

The NSW Dept. Community Services have released a discussion paper regarding the care of under 16 year olds who seek accommodation support from Specialist Homelessness Services (SHS) (youth refuges) to address ambiguities in law and practice around the care of these young people. First and foremost, parents are responsible to raise their children to a point of autonomy and anecdotally we know that many young people remain in the family home till their mid-20’s and beyond. These arrangements are sometimes derailed for a variety of reasons that range from abuse through to parents’ inability to adequately care, mental ill-health, substance abuse to economic capacity to provide for children.

Over the past 20 years there have been numerous attempts to draft an under 16’s policy between SHS and Family and Community Services that reach a point of common agreement that there is a problem and the process stalls so I am pleased to have another opportunity to progress this important policy issue. At the heart of this concern is who is responsible for the well-being of these young people and as the law states today it is firstly the parents’ responsibility to ensure a safe and nurturing environment is provided and if this is not the case a child protection regime is in place to assess the situation and determine a constructive way forward. Current policy is to do all in our power to supply the support and resources to assist parents to fulfill these responsibilities however there are situations where the child’s safety cannot be assured and that there has been a risk of significant harm (ROSH) that may lead FACS to initiate a Court process seeking the removal of the child from their family.

The Court route is a last resort and is rarely taken for a child over 14 years so in these cases where the parent is unable to discharge their role in providing for their child the child is often left with nobody assuming formal responsibility. This creates a myriad of problems from consent (medical, schooling, financial) whereas if a court had determined that it was unsafe or unreasonable for a young person to return home the child would then be subject to the provisions of Out of Home Care (OOHC) that enables access to foster care and residential care of a standard determined by the Children’s Guardian. This is a costly option with residential care costing between $74,000 and $288,000 per child per annum and represents failure to successfully support the family so is often viewed as a derisory outcome.

FACS have continued to use SHS services as respite or most likely the only placements that can be found for OOHC clients which is also cynical cost cutting and definitely not in the best interests of the child.

In lieu of an OOHC outcome young people who cannot return to their family are placed in SHS services where resourcing is minimal and the capacity to ensure a safe and nurturing long term environment is getting harder to guarantee. By way of example the current Going Home Staying Home reform of the SHS sector will see no medium term accommodation in the Eastern Suburb so the SHS response has to be to get the child home or establish a case for FACS to bring the child into OOHC however, the reality is more likely that the young person will couch surf till they run out of options or to put themselves into risky situations of exploitation. The Eastern Suburbs currently has 2 accommodation services to provide up to 3 years stable accommodation for 13 young people under 16 and these will disappear under the GHSH reforms so there will be no options other than returning to the family home past June 30 2014.

A painfully boring impact on homelessness has been a tussle, probably since Federation between the States and the Commonwealth as the Commonwealth is clear that it is the States who are responsible for children as defined in the Children and Young Persons (care and protection) ACT or under 16 years.  Further to this is that FACS does not assume any responsibility for a young person for whom they are not legally required to assist so this leaves many children and young people aged 14 to 18 with nobody taking responsibility for their well-being. This sound like neglect.

In the 1980’s and 90’s when many of the large traditional State run institutions were closed the SHS sector was inundated with State Wards (now young people in the care of the Minister) and as many services at the time refused to accommodate under 16’s unless they were adequately funded to meet their needs. Caretakers Cottage and a small number of other services continued to accommodate these young people as they were clearly in need and worked towards a comprehensive policy to ensure the well–being of these vulnerable young people and 20 years later we are no closer to a resolution.

The process of mandatory reporting of abuse has become a farce as the risk of significant harm (ROSH) test screens homeless young people out as homelessness is not recognised and a significant risk of harm however, I would contend that neglect and failure to provide the necessities of life would seem significant to me. To illustrate I recall accommodating a 17-year-old boy who presented with serious welts on his back that were obviously caused by an electrical cord, he was reluctant to involve FACS as when this was reported the FACS Helpline concluded that he was no longer at risk as he was now residing at the refuge, further he had concerns that his 12-year-old sister was subject to similar mistreatment. On the basis that his allegations were dismissed he was reluctant to pursue the matter with FACS as he could not provide date, time and a description of exact injuries so he did not see the point in going on with the complaint even though he was sure his sister was being abused.

The new reforms will see the Eastern Suburbs funding of $2.8m cut to $1.5m and the closure of at least 6 accommodation services and when the reformers are asked about resourcing high needs and young children’s requirements we are told to return the child to their families or to place them in transitional accommodation (A flat) and provide staff to support them, scarcely a reasonable solution for the needs of a 14 year old who has been traumatised by their family break up or abused to the point they cannot return home.

A positive aspect of the GHSH reform is to divert some accommodation funding to early intervention though if this is not accompanied by a major public awareness campaign that connects distressed families with support services who provide parenting education and appropriate mental health services not a lot will change. Families need to here and accept that parenting is there responsibility and that should you be struggling there are supports available. Expensive but so is the alternative. FACS and society generally has taken a pejorative view and focus on the impression of bad parenting with consequences and enforcement that tends to discourage parents from seeking help for fear their children will be removed.

© Caretakers Cottage 2014

Just Staying at a Mates: Wearing out your Welcome

Laurie Matthews | Youth Accommodation Association | May 11, 2013

In preparing to write this blog I spoke to a few people to get their perspectives on couch surfing and came away with a wide range of views or experiences. Firstly, my daughter, who lives at home and heads off for week long jaunts to her friend’s places in Newtown, believes couch surfing represents some of her best experiences. They are like childhood sleepovers in primary school. Her experience is purely social with no imperative of survival.

However, the reality for most who experience homelessness is that ‘couch surfing’ is resorted to on the basis of survival. Many of the young people I talk with say that initially, they find relief and comfort at being accepted at a welcoming home, but the comfort is short-lived as friendships and relationships are tested. They say that typically staying in a friend’s bedroom, initially works well, say for a night or two, but soon becomes problematic when the host doesn’t necessarily agree to take on the responsibility of having the young person stay with them for an undefined and longer period of time. It is further complicated when the friend still lives at home with parents.

When parents understand that their child’s friend has taken to staying at their home for more than several nights, they typically will pressure their child to get the couch surfer to move on. Since saying no can be difficult for a young person who knows their friend has nowhere else to go this pressure normally leads to a strain or breakdown in the relationship. With young people being cut off and kicked out since that can sometimes be the easiest way for a host to approach the situation.

Over the years I’ve found that when young people crash on their friend’s couch for lack of other places to stay, they should work out the terms of their stay and be clear about their situation with their host up front. Of course this is asking a lot of the young person, seeing as they are in a difficult position to begin with but it can provide a young person with the opportunity to offer to take part in chores, make their lack of ability to help financially and their situation clear to the host. Open and strong communication seems a deciding factor in whether relationships can outlast an experience of homelessness.

For young people coming to Caretakers Cottage Youth Refuge who have been couch surfing, coming to the service often provides relief to the never ending question of ‘haven’t you found anywhere yet?’  The guilt around imposing yourself where you have worn out your welcome or are not wanted and the self-esteem issues of being dependent when you aspire to a place of your own can weigh heavily on young people’s hearts and minds.

I have found that many who find themselves couch surfing have not been aware of their options or have not wanted to engage with community support services such as refuges. There is also a comforting notion that hosts will help their friends out when they are in need- but this clearly has to be the result of an upfront agreement. Who knows, if communication is strong enough at the beginning, it may result in a young person properly moving in as a flatmate!

On the downside it would seem that many young people find themselves in risky and dangerous situations where they are exploited. It seems, the greater the desperation of the young person, the greater the risk of exploitation, meaning that the most vulnerable are the most at risk of having damaging ‘couch surfing’ experiences.

From those I have spoken with couch surfing is sometimes the only option but rarely desirable as there are considerable costs on friendships and relationships and it is humiliating to throw yourself at somebody else’s mercy. It is great that we have a safety net of a variety of accommodation services however on a day like the one in which I write this blog there are no vacancies at any crisis service in Sydney. Leaving many young people to risk their safety and friendships tonight so they don’t have to sleep on the street. I hope they are able to negotiate a safe arrangement that does not stretch the friendship too far.

© Youth Accommodation Association 2013

Help Build a Family's Future

The Fixer | Southern Courier | October 2012

To Be Fixed: Daceyville Home

Options Youth Housing needs your help

Problem: A young disadvantaged family is waiting to move into a house in need of repair. Options Youth Housing, a non-for-profit organisation, is calling for volunteers and materials to get the house up to scratch, for it to be "a safe, clean and welcoming space for our young family to move into", says program manager Kate Witherdin (pictured, left). Options Youth Housing has one full-time and one part-time staff member.

Solution: Options Youth Housing is looking for donations of materials, including paint, paint brushes, tiles, lino and volunteers to help with labour. "The maintenance falls on us, so if we can't get people to help we don't really know what we will do, because we have very little money in the kitty," Ms. Witherdin said.

© Southern Courier 2012

A View From the Field

Laurie Matthews | ACWA Newsletter | September 2010

Naively in 1998 I submitted a tender to establish an OOHC program thinking we could assist young people and also ostensibly to relieve some of the pressure on our SAAP program in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs. Twelve years later, the pressure is just as acute and we are being warned of a further growth in the numbers of young people in care. From a SAAP perspective, I can say without hesitation that there are still many 14 and 15 year olds who are not in statutory care, floating around without anyone assuming responsibility and without any legal basis for other informal care arrangements. My first point goes to the very important issue of continuing the reform in Out of Home Care that has been started. Many of the new models and services are essential and they must be allowed to continue.

When a 13 or 14 or 15 or 16 year old refuses to remain in an OOHC Service placement, and this does happen, under the current contracting arrangements for OOHC Services this is the responsibility of the contracted service. However, it can be very complex and difficult when the young person themselves refuses reasonable offers of other placements. A community agency only has so many options other than the Youth Accommodation Association vacancy line for a crisis bed in a refuge. This is still putting huge pressure on youth SAAP services which have not received any additional funding to meet the need of many high needs clients. SAAP Services are seen as “collateral damage” between the funding system for SAAP and the new developments planned through the NSW Homelessness Action Plan. My phone rings hot with calls from Sydney, Northern NSW, the Central and the South Coast as examples looking for crisis placements for young people who have been ejected from foster or Out of Home Care Residential placements. I would contend that when a young person cannot sustain an OOHC placement, particularly a residential placement, they need a more intensive response, not just a placement in an under supported, under resourced SAAP service till a new placement can be secured.

We are still operating in a situation where the State has deemed it necessary to support young people in care in accredited programs. Nevertheless, those who end up in SAAP placements are being supported by agencies with much less funding, much less resourcing and where one staff member is often dealing with up to eight young people at one time. These young people are arguably in need of more intense support. Whether the Department agrees or not, young people in the Out of Home Care population are still ending up in SAAP services and SAAP Services are still acting as a defacto arm of the Out of Home Care system in some cases. If NSW is serious about reducing exits from care into homelessness then it would better resource Youth SAAP Services to assist in this. There are some excellent models in the new Out of Home Care contracted services that provide a graduated move from residential care to supported outreach placements to supported independent living. These models should be better recognised, more funded and supported. For example Southern Youth and Family Services, as I think it is one of few OOHC services funded for our sort of model.

Separate from young people leaving Out of Home Care placements, there are young people in need of far greater support who leave home. When I inform the Helpline of another 15 year old at Caretakers whose parents can no longer support their child’s behaviour the response is that the child is safe now, that they are at a refuge, so what do I expect the Department to do? Fair enough. I have great sympathy for the Department, as no government can begin to meet the demand for alternative parenting arrangements that currently exist. I am encouraged by programs like Reconnect, but it really needs to be expanded and the current services need to be enhanced to meet demand. I am also encouraged by promises of an expansion of Brighter Futures funding for 9-14 year olds. However, I am concerned at the proposed change to the Detached Family Counselor Projects through the CSGP Program, which will result in time limited early intervention as opposed to the more flexible program that is successful today. The reality of the situation is that right now, when I attempt to encourage a parent to develop the necessary skill to successfully parent their child, I struggle to find support programs or family counselling that will provide services in a timely or acceptable format and long term. All too often I am engaged with parents of older adolescents who have tried to provide for their children’s needs only to be worn down to the point of giving up, for example where young people demonstrate intellectual disabilities or emerging mental health issues. My second point is we need to maintain and expand programs that are working well and we need to expand the number of services with the capacity to support families to prevent young people becoming homeless or coming into care.

In a time of immense pressure on resources, the focus has to be on developing adequate support programs that parents can easily access. As a long term worker in the field I struggle to find family counselling or mental health support, particularly for reluctant clients. No wonder many parents give up, thus resulting in another young person in SAAP or OOHC facilities.

I am encouraged by the development of Brighter Futures and other programs and believe that enabling parents to better care for their children has to be the way forward, and for the community at large to be aware that our direction is in facilitating their capacity to care rather than removing kids and making them someone else’s responsibility. Perhaps some media promotion in this area might start to bring about the cultural change that is necessary.

I think the answer has multiple components:

1. Providing supports to encourage parents to develop their capacity to care for their children. Ultimately this is about community wide cultural change that enhances the value of parenting and enables parents to rise to the challenges. However, I acknowledge that an OOHC response will always be needed.
2. Expand the models and types of accommodation options in OOHC.
3. Extend SAAP lie services to assist in the development of independent living situations for those young people who are “moving” from OOHC but not ready for independence.
4. The widening of Brighter Futures to include older children is a great start and I look forward to the development of supports to parents of 14 to 18 year olds who are not engaging successfully in what is already offered in the community. It will be essential to ensure that this program expansion ensures that additional resources can go to agencies that already have credibility, experience and expertise in working with adolescents and their families such as many Youth SAAP Services, Reconnect services and others.
5. In addition, an expanded crisis response needs to be developed in the OOHC sector that is adequately resourced to provide for the needs of those young people who cannot make a positive connection with their service and for whom a different model is required. Such a response needs to focus on bringing about some change that will enable the young person to make some positive choices about their care arrangements.

I think we can fix this situation. The answer is not in the reduction of funding to the existing OOHC agencies but in the expansion of suitable models for adolescents, better funding and support for SAAP Services, an expansion of family support programs like the Detached Family Counselor Projects and Reconnect Services to better support families, and community education and supports to encourage and provide practical help to families in the care of their young people.

© Association of Children's Welfare Agencies 2010

Nearly 60% of Homeless Australians are Under 35

Darla Bardine | National Network for Youth | April 11, 2010

The alarming number of homeless young people is jeopardising Australia’s future. According to a Federal Government report, nearly 63,000 homeless Australians, or 60% of all homeless, are under 35 years old. It may surprise people that the biggest homeless age group in Australia is 12 to 18 years – the teenage group that is usually expected to be under the care and support of families.

The general public has neglected the seriousness of youth homelessness because these young people do not fit into the homeless stereotype – unkempt male adults, drunks, drug addicts and the mentally-ills – who are sleeping rough.

However, the same report showed signs of optimism – the number of homeless youth came down by almost 21% during the recorded five-year period. Given there was no significant change in unemployment, the government attributed the decline to the success of early intervention services. Caretaker’s Cottage is one of these organisations that provide youth emergency accommodation in the eastern suburbs.

“Most kids come to us as the result of some disaster within their family,” Laurie Matthews, the executive officer of Caretaker’s Cottage said. “Here, we aim at bringing them home through family reconciliation.” When asked about the Caretaker’s Cottage’s residents, Mr. Matthews said it consisted of young people from different cultures, social backgrounds and of both genders. “Youth homelessness is a phenomena that can affect every suburb and social group.”

“The number one reason these kids leave their homes is the divorce of their parents – they no longer know where they belong,” he said. Given the high rate of divorce in Australia and about half of it involving children, he was worried about the effects on future generations. He also warned that parents and the community need to act on the issue quickly.

April 14th is Youth Homelessness Matters Day. Caretaker’s Cottage will set up an information counter in Bondi Junction Mall to raise awareness about the issue.

© National Network for Youth 2010

Funding Boost for Caretakers

Leesa Smith | Southern Courier | 27 January, 2009

Vulnerable local children will be given the opportunity to live in out-of-home care accommodation, thanks to state government funding received by the Caretakers Cottage in Bondi.

The $3.2 million in funding will create eight out-of-home care placements including four residential care placements and four semi-independent living placements.

Coogee MP Paul Pearce welcomed the announcement. "It is projected that there will be approximately 1,670 children in out-of-home care in the Metro Central region [by June]," he said.

He said people needed to recognise that there were dysfunctional families across every socio-economic group.

"There's a presumption, because we are a relatively high socio-economic area in the Coogee electorate, that we don't have the issues," Mr Pearce said. "The reality is that we do."

Community Services Minister Linda Burney said the department was negotiating with many new and existing non-government organisations to provide the additional services across the state.

© Southern Courier 2009

Hope for the Homeless

Adam Bub | SX News | May 7, 2008

For more than 30 years, Caretakers Cottage has been providing support for gay and straight kids alike. Its founder, Laurie Matthews, spoke to Adam Bub. In Australia, nearly 22,000 teenagers between the ages of 12 and 18 are homeless, according to the 2006 ABS census. The demand for practical support and accommodation services is high, which the National Youth Commission's Australia's Homeless Youth report highlighted in April.

Caretakers Cottage is one not-for-profit organisation that addresses this need, having helped over 6,000 homeless young people get their lives back on track. "We initially opened to provide support to young people coming from the country to the city looking for employment, who were going to see the bright lights and come undone in one way or another," Laurie Matthews, Executive Officer of Caretakers, tells SX.

The son of a Uniting Church minister in Paddington, Matthews launched a non-religious youth drop-in service in 1972, and fostered links with fellow church tenants like the Metropolitan Community Church. In 1977, Matthews and his wife opened the Paddington-Woollahra Youth Service, later renamed Caretakers Cottage, and now located in Bondi.

Matthews operates three accommodation services in Sydney: Caretakers Cottage, a short-term accommodation crisis refuge for homeless children aged 12-17; Options Youth Housing, a medium-term accommodation service for youth aged 15-24 in Mascot; and Entity, an out-of-home-care accommodation service in Hurstville for children cared for by the New South Wales Minister for Community Services.

Caretakers assists young people dealing with issues such as family breakdowns, drug and alcohol abuse, and mental illness. "Many of the kids are lonely, isolated and spinning out of control," Matthews says. Caretakers ensures that the children are working or attending school or TAFE, while tending to legal and health issues and putting them onto government benefits, while liaising with their families.

"Our number one priority is to try and get kids back home with their families, and get their families providing the right kind of environment for them to grow and thrive," says Matthews. Matthews insists that the "hobo" stereotype of homeless kids is not accurate. "We have kids from all stratas of society," he says. "We have kids from Eastern suburbs private schools. The Dad can earn squillions of dollars, but that doesn't mean he and his family can hold together a successful family unit."

Matthews is grounded by his two daughters. "I get a reasonable adolescent perspective from my daughters and their friends. In this kind of work you can get a very jaundiced view of adolescents and the community, because what we see is not what the average adolescent is going through out there," says Matthews.

Matthews recognises that some homeless teens prefer an exclusively gay environment, but thinks it's important to make gay and lesbian teens comfortable everywhere. "Many gay teens get carried away with their sexuality, and jump out of the closet from the top shelf," he says. "Our team of gay, lesbian and heterosexual staff make them feel safe, but also help them learn to live in a mixed community."

Matthews is proud of Caretakers' contribution to thousands of teenagers' lives. "I'm happy to come to work because we have a real impact on people’s lives. Kids come back to us looking for guidance, support and direction. It means we’ve made a really good connection with that young person, and they want more of what we've got to offer," Matthews tells SX. Just recently, Matthews visited a former client in Darwin as she graduated with a psychology degree.

Matthews says that members of the public can help Caretakers either by joining the board or simply providing doonas and accessories for the kids. If you would like to help Caretakers, call Laurie Matthews on 02 9389 0999.

© SX News 2008

Congratulations to Caretakers Cottage

Malcolm Turnbull MP | October 18, 2007

Today I had the privilege of meeting a simply excellent bunch of people ­ the young residents and workers of "Caretaker's Cottage". It's the Cottage's 30th birthday, and their founder, Laurie Matthews, invited me to the festivities and speak at their gathering at Waverley Bowls Club this afternoon.

I congratulated Laurie Matthews for his remarkable achievement of 30 years of selfless service to the eastern suburbs community and specifically to our youths in crisis. The story of "Caretaker’s Cottage" is an inspiring one and very Australian in its plot. When Laurie Matthews first started "Caretaker’s Cottage" in 1977, there was nothing like it of its kind to help homeless youths in the area. The Cottage seeks to source constructive training, work and educational opportunities for troubled teens during their stay. The cottage vision is to work with individuals during their stay to build the life skills they will need for successful independent living or to reconcile with their families. Laurie’s idea was instantly recognized as a revolutionary approach to youth homelessness, and the six thousand or more young people who have passed through the doors are testimony to the success of his warm and personal approach to young lives in crisis. The Cottage is now seen as a leading edge example of caring for our homeless young people. And yet, despite its significant achievements, "Caretaker’s Cottage" has maintained an admirable, quiet humility, never seeking to big­note itself in the community or make headlines for the work it does.

So, congratulations Laurie and to the whole team at Caretakers Cottage who make this special place such a valuable resource. Could I also especially mention caseworkers Angie Bainbridge and Anette Jespersen. Thirty years is a remarkable achievement, and I wish you all the very best as you grow in your mission of service to the community and to our youth over the next three decades and beyond. As both a lifelong resident of the area and the Federal Member for Wentworth, let me extend a deep and heartfelt vote of thanks for all that you do for our community.

© Malcolm Turnbull MP 2007