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Mr MIKE BAIRD (Manly) [7.19 p.m.]: I too pay tribute to the member for Hornsby. Her work and passion for those who are mentally ill and those who are homeless are an inspiration to me and should be an inspiration to everyone in New South Wales. I congratulate her on bringing forward this matter of public importance. It is ironic that in the gallery tonight we have every parent's dream—kids who are the captains of their schools and who represent the leadership not just of their community in Manly, but potentially the leadership of the entire State. Not everyone is so lucky. Every night 11,000 kids between 12 and 18 are homeless in New South Wales—they have no roof over their heads. I ask myself why am I in this place? Why do I want to be in this Parliament? First and foremost, I want to make a difference for the Manly electorate community that I love and represent with great pride. I am committed to the 11,000 kids who, day in and day out, do not have a home. If we can make a difference in their lives, our time here will be worthwhile.
The Premier has declared his commitment to address homelessness, and we applaud that. We do not just want words, we want action. Last month the Government introduced the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Amendment (Youth Conduct Orders) Bill to provide multiagency coordination between youth services. However, it was just a pilot program. We need action. Children across the State deserve far greater support than they are currently getting. In this journey I met Paul Moulds, who runs Oasis in Surry Hills. He is testimony to the silent heroes in our community. Day in and day out he goes out onto the street and builds relationships with some of these kids, asking them whether they want to move up, whether they want to get off the drugs. If they do, he is there to help them. What he said to me has stuck with me. He said, "Behind these kids' pain and family problems, behind the drugs and often associated mental illness … is a beautiful human being." That is what he sees in these kids. Unfortunately, society sees the problems, not the beautiful human behind them.
Last month the New South Wales Coalition held a summit on youth homelessness. Since the Burdekin report 20 years ago the problem has only worsened. Tangible changes must be made. At our summit 40 experts worked together and we came up with recommendations and plans for the State Government to adopt to start to make a difference. Some experts at the summit said that counsellors are needed in every New South Wales school to enable early intervention. We need to co-locate services to improve access for youth who do not go from place to place to seek help. Odyssey House found that each person had been in contact with 12 different services before they went to Odyssey House. The summit also found that caseworkers must work across government departments; that we need to look at tax incentives for landlords, mentoring programs for young people by young people, as well as employment opportunities. We are pleased that, in response to this initiative by the member for Hornsby, the Minister for Youth has agreed to hold a statewide summit. We applaud the Minister for taking it on so that once and for all the State Government will take youth homelessness seriously.
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