It takes a village to raise a family

Great speech from Ian Andrews made at the No Love from Lovell Rally in Melbourne on Thursday 18th August

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, my name is Ian Andrews and I am a father of five from the Goulburn Valley. My wife and I are currently raising two young children and our youngest son has special needs. The support we have received from our local Occasional Care Centre has been an absolute lifeline for my family.

We do not have extended family living near us and it has been so important to have the support of our Occasional Care Centre to help us cope with the daily stresses of parenthood. The help we receive allows my wife and family to function so much better than when struggling on our own, it benefits us in so many ways.

We were desperate to find somewhere that my son could be cared for, but we didn’t require “full” day care, there is a difference. It was such a relief to find “Occasional Care”, to find carers who had the expertise and love to care for our son and understand his special needs. It also allowed my wife time to help me in our family business or to attend appointments, as well as give her the break that every mother needs for her own mental health.

I have the privilege of looking after our children for one day a week while my wife works, but I have to say, I look forward to getting back to my business! It is hard work caring for young children. Our government should be supporting families in any way possible. The Take a Break program is a proven, well established program that has had strong foundations in our communities for over 15 years. It is a success story which supports both parents and children. It is a small investment with an enormous return.

We’re not just here today to complain about these funding cuts. We’re here today trying to build our children’s future and to secure the wellbeing of our families!

We are so disappointed that the politicians that we elected into office are making no effort to represent us, they are making no effort to empathise with the families affected by these funding cuts and they are not listening to our concerns or consulting with grass roots families to try and find any solutions.

The date on my calendar says 2011, but our politicians want to take us back to the 1950’s. Times have changed and the days when families lived close by and gave each other day by day support in raising their families has nearly disappeared.

It has been said that “It takes a village to raise a family”. Occasional Care is an essential part of our village and we must not lose it from our communities.

Mr Baillieu, as one father to another, I implore you to reconsider the decision to terminate this vital service and to support struggling families across our state.

Thankyou for your time.