I first of all thank the member for Parkes for bringing this motion. I also add that I'm very sad to see him leaving parliament at the end of this term. He's been a great addition to the parliament—in particular, his interest in rural and regional health has been really important, and I thank him for his service. On the health committee he's been a great asset, so I thank him for that.

I know the Royal Far West very, very well. In fact, when I was a senior registrar at the children's hospital many, many years ago, my wife and I used to take kids who were staying at the Royal Far West out for day outings et cetera around Sydney. I remember one boy, Peter, a lovely, lovely kid with very unstable diabetes. People were frightened to take him away from health care, so my wife and I took him to lots of different places. We took him to the Easter show. We took him to Bondi Beach and all around the place. He was from Broken Hill and was staying in the Far West so that he could be treated at the children's hospital, then at Camperdown, for his diabetes, which, as I said, was quite unstable. He stayed there for many weeks at a time. He used to come every year. He came from a family at Broken Hill who struggled with his health care, and I think the Royal Far West really made a difference to his health care and the management of his diabetes.

We had another boy—quite a funny little boy—from Lismore, I remember, called Shane. Shane had something called Ondine's curse, which is a very rare condition: when he went to sleep, he'd stop breathing. It sounds quite odd, but that's what he had. He stayed at Far West quite a lot whilst his ventilator was being stabilised before he went back to Lismore. We took him out several times. We also took him to the Easter show.

Another girl, called Melissa, had seizure disorder. I think came from Dunedoo. She was at the Royal Far West while her epilepsy was being stabilised.

The paediatrician at Manly, my old friend Alan Oldfield, who's no longer with us, used to help manage these kids in cooperation with their GP or paediatrician where they came from whilst they stayed in the Royal Far West. It was a great, great service. Clearly, the needs have changed a lot in the last 40 years since we cared for these kids. The government has provided significant funding for mental health support, particularly following the floods and bushfires that have beset our country in the last decade, particularly for support in communities for kids with developmental problems. As the member for Parkes had commented, once these kids are picked up—and, hopefully, picked up early—intervention makes a huge difference not only to their lives but to their families as well. The Royal Far West has been integral in that, trying to replicate services for kids from the bush compared to kids who lived in the inner cities and close to the major children's hospitals.

The government's provided $20 million through the Royal Far West for the Community Health and Hospitals Program. We've provided telehealth services. I agree with the member for Parkes that it is important that this funding is committed to over the longer term so that ongoing services can be provided for those kids. We're very, very lucky to have a service like the Royal Far West system, and I, for one, will commit to getting the government to continue supporting Royal Far West in their expanded role to those communities that have been really severely affected by the natural disasters which, in this era of climate change, are not going to stop. They're going to continue. It is very important that Royal Far West continues in its fantastic work throughout our rural and regional communities.

We know, wherever we are in Australia, that the mental health system is facing huge challenges. Our government is committed to making sure we have fit-for-purpose and best-for-purpose services throughout the country, not just in the inner cities. Mental health reform was part of our last federal budget, and it will continue to be the focus of our future budget in 2025.

We are very lucky to have a service like Royal Far West. I enjoyed very much the time I spent learning from them about how best to provide services to kids in our rural and regional areas. Long may it continue. I thank the member for Parkes for bringing this motion, and I commit to supporting it.