Repair It Lake Mac

Mr GREG PIPER (Lake Macquarie)—In an age where so many things are disposable and we tend to throw away old possessions rather than repair them, it's heartening to see one Lake Macquarie group working hard to buck this environmentally unfriendly trend. Toronto Sustainable Neighbourhood Group joined forces with Warners Bay Area Sustainable Neighbourhood Group to create the aptly named "Repair It Lake Mac". Sam Doove and Gabrielle Clappison lead a team of 30 volunteers in the group. Collectively they run regular 'repair cafes' and hold events in the Toronto and Warners Bay area where people are invited to bring in items such as old furniture, bikes, toys, tools and clothes to be repaired. The end result, of course, is that those items are saved from going to landfill. Volunteers say that teaching people how to repair items, sharing their skills and showing them how to be sustainable brings a real sense of joy and purpose to the team. They are working to change the mentality of our disposable society and I think that deserves genuine praise and recognition. I thank them for their excellent work and encourage them to keep up their amazing efforts.