Thursday, 30 October 2025

 Renee HEATH (Eastern Victoria) (13:02): (1938) My question is for the Minister for Carers and Volunteers. In the Eastern Victoria Region there are eight neighbourhood houses operating under the state government’s neighbourhood house coordination program. On 12 October the minister said:

… I encourage everyone to find a way to ‘Care for a Carer’ …

That message rings hollow when the government is failing to save over 200 community houses from closing across the state. These houses provide direct support to carers and those they care for. They reduce isolation, build skills and ease pressure on our healthcare system. The peak body Neighbourhood Houses Victoria says that every dollar invested delivers approximately $21 in community benefit, so if the government met their $11 million funding request, they would save $256 million. How can the minister justify urging Victorians to care for carers while refusing to fund those that make that care possible?