I am sure every electorate has organisations and groups that work tirelessly to serve their community in some way. Perhaps I am biased, but I think the Blue Mountains is exceptional in that regard. Through the generosity of the New South Wales Government, some such organisations and groups in my community will receive a funding boost to provide them with much‑needed support. To continue to operate they must source funding year after year and if it is not found they face closure. If that were to happen the loss would be deeply felt within my community. I am proud to represent a community so rich in creativity and diversity. Today I dedicate my private member's statement to five organisations that typify the spirit of the Blue Mountains community.

Farm It Forward is a social enterprise that connects landowners with local young people who feel passionately about growing food. The concept is quite simple. A landowner donates a plot of land and the Farm It Forward team plants and cultivates crops on that land. In return, the landowner receives their weekly needs in organic vegetables for free and Farm It Forward takes the rest to sell at markets and to local food co‑operatives and cafes. It is a wonderful, mutually beneficial exchange. Even better, the young urban farmers who engage with this project gain so much.

The Farm It Forward program facilitates something quite special. It provides an opportunity for real connection not only with the earth and the food we eat but also amongst participants, landowners and the community more broadly. The personal benefits of the program are profound. It addresses social isolation, building support networks for dealing with loneliness and anxiety. It motivates, inspires and provides a solid platform for cross‑generational connections across the community, all the while teaching us how crucial food security and sustainable farming practices are. I am moved beyond measure by the vision and work of Manu Prigioni and the entire team at Farm It Forward.

The Mountain of Youth filmmaking and film production mentorship program offers similar benefits for youth in my Blue Mountains electorate by guiding them through an immersive storytelling process. I first met the project director, Kalani Gacon, in 2022 when I attended one of the Mountain of Youth workshops. I was impressed to see Kalani in action, connecting and inspiring local youth with the shared goal of making a movie. Some of the kids in this program were doing it tough, socially and emotionally. The awkwardness of their teenage years, the social isolation that came from the COVID‑19 lockdowns, and their own challenging personal journeys had all combined to create a sense of disconnect for some of these young people at a crucial stage in their social development. Kalani's workshops and the filmmaking process provided a real beacon of hope at that time.

Mountain of Youth reminded me of what a powerful tool storytelling is. The end result of the program was an evocative film calledSoles. It premiered in Katoomba to a sold‑out cinema and a roar from the crowd as Kalani, producer Riley Saxton and the filmmakers took to the stage at the end of the screening. The heart and soul infused into the production was evident. I am thrilled that Mountain of Youth is planning to inspire another group of young people in 2023.

The Blue Mountains is unique in many ways, not least of all due to its eclectic collection of towns and villages scattered along a ridge line atop World Heritage listed gorges and valleys. We are a tight‑knit community made up of individual sub‑communities, who are all very proud to be a part of this remarkable region. We are blessed with incredible community spirit and are fortunate to be home to organisations that play vital roles in supporting and unifying us. The following three organisations are major contributors to the forging of that community spirit.

The Bungarabee Centre is a hub in Hazelbrook that is instrumental to the provision of community‑centred services in our local area, including Connect Child and Family Services, and Mountains Outreach Community Services. The Bungarabee Centre also offers long day care, support for families with children with a disability, a peer support program for young parents, and a playgroup for First Nations families hosted by the Blue Mountains Aboriginal Culture and Resource Centre. Resident organisations in the Bungarabee Centre run a range of projects centred around early literacy, social inclusion and sustainable living. The Bungarabee Centre is truly at the heart of community care in our area.

Junction 142, based in Katoomba, works to support what can often be an invisible cohort of people in need—those experiencing homelessness or living rough in cars or boarding houses, families experiencing domestic violence and, sadly and increasingly, older folk who are struggling to make ends meet. Junction 142 works with those individuals and families to assist in the provision of basic human needs. This dedicated organisation strives to assist people to live with dignity, providing social interaction in a safe and warm environment. Gateway Family Services, based in Blaxland, is another organisation doing similar work to support families and enrich and strengthen relationships. Each of those organisations is incredibly deserving of the Government's support.