Mr ANOULACK CHANTHIVONG (Macquarie Fields—Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading, Minister for Industry and Trade, Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology, Minister for Building, and Minister for Corrections) (20:53): October is Mental Health Month. Fittingly, this year's theme is "Let's talk about it", which is precisely what I intend to do. I pay tribute to the late Sandra McDonald and her legacy of mental health advocacy in my community. I also speak in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of Beautiful Minds Macarthur and to acknowledge Beautiful Minds' efforts to raise funds for upgrades to mental health facilities at Liverpool and Campbelltown hospitals—more on that later.
I was humbled to attend a special event hosted recently by Beautiful Minds Macarthur at Ingleburn RSL Club. The event acknowledged the wonderful contributions of Beautiful Minds' volunteers over its 20‑year history, none more so than the late Sandra McDonald, a passionate advocate for mental health in our community and a founding member of Beautiful Minds Macarthur. Sandra lived for many years in my electorate and was indeed a dear friend. A champion for mental health in our community, Sandra was determined to make a difference. And what a difference she made! Sandra was always full of energy, empathy and eagerness to bring about positive change. Above all else, Sandra wanted people with mental illness to be valued, respected and treated with dignity.
Sandra also strove for a world in which mental health was talked about as openly as physical health. Reducing the stigma often associated with mental illness was one of Sandra's key goals, for it was personal to Sandra and her husband, Rick. One of their sons was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and so began a lifetime of advocacy as a parent, as a carer and as a member of the Campbelltown and broader south-west Sydney community. A subcommittee under the former Schizophrenia Fellowship of New South Wales, now known as One Door Mental Health, Beautiful Minds was formed in 2004. Sandra McDonald was the group's first president and held the role for 14 years.
I was fortunate to work closely with Sandra over many years, first as the Mayor of Campbelltown, from 2011 to 2012, and again in my capacity as the member for Macquarie Fields, since 2015. Together, in partnership with Beautiful Minds, we developed and hosted a series of community mental health forums. Beautiful Minds played a major role in the forums, under the leadership of Sandra and, later, Cheryl Paradella, who took the reins of Beautiful Minds Macarthur in 2018 and remains president to this day. The forums were well received. They provided an opportunity for people within my electorate to hear from speakers with lived experience, connect with local services and foster greater awareness of mental health.
Like many in my community, I was very much saddened to learn of Sandra's passing a few months ago. Sandra was the local face of community mental health awareness, whether through a regular column in the local newspapers, the Mad Hatter's annual fundraising dinner, or Waratah Day. Sandra's hard work won her many awards, including Campbelltown Citizen of the Year for 2014 and NSW Senior Volunteer of the Year for 2016. Despite the long list of awards and accolades, Sandra remained humbled by her experiences. I have fond memories of Sandra and know that she found in Beautiful Minds Macarthur a group of like-minded people who became dear friends and even family. Of course Sandra knew that Beautiful Minds was much bigger than herself, and relinquished the role of president to Cheryl in 2018.
Beautiful Minds Macarthur has continued to advocate for improved local services. In exciting news, Cheryl informed me only last week that Beautiful Minds Macarthur has raised $60,000 for improvements to mental health units at Liverpool Hospital. These funds will be used to make the mental health units more homely and less clinical, to aid in people's mental health journey and recovery. The money will be used to purchase artwork, furniture, plants and shade. I am told that the improvements will be most welcome. An additional $20,000 has been raised for improvements to the mental health units at Campbelltown Hospital. All the funds have been raised by Beautiful Minds Macarthur and its volunteers. What an extraordinary effort!
I take this opportunity to thank Cheryl and everyone involved in Beautiful Minds Macarthur for their dedication to improving the lives of so many with mental illness in our community. Twenty years is a fantastic milestone. However, the journey does not end here. There is still much work to be done. We can all do our bit to help raise the awareness of mental health in the community. Let us continue the conversation, to talk about it, because mental health matters.
