EXTRACT FROM

PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES

HANSARD

Ms SHING Eastern Victoria

MEMBERS STATEMENTS

COVID-19

Wedesday 18th March 2020

Ms SHING (Eastern Victoria) (09:57): We are living in some pretty strange times, and we are living in circumstances of great uncertainty and unpredictability. For many people across our communities this is leading to significant fear, to misinformation and to anxiety and distress. In this regard I want to put on the record my appreciation of those people who are working really hard to infuse a little kindness, generosity, patience and indeed tenderness to those around them as we endure some circumstances which I think perhaps none of us have really understood the enormity or complexity of and which will continue to unfold over the coming weeks and indeed months.

I know that people across our services sector and industries are doing it tough. I know that the provision of customer care is particularly difficult at the moment, including for those working in our retail sectors. My thanks to them and to everyone who is treating them with the respect, the value and the recognition that they deserve and providing them with a safe workplace as they go about their business.

My thanks also to those in the health, medical and allied services industries, who are working around the clock and who are also isolating themselves from their families and their friends in order to continue to go about doing the work to save lives and to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

In addition to this I want to say thank you to everybody who is applying common sense, who is making sure that we stand the best possible chance of getting through this together and who is fundamentally thinking of others as we go about our daily lives.