Whitlam MP Carol Berry one year in the role. Photo: Kellie O’Brien.
Member for Whitlam Carol Berry has marked a year in federal politics and said her decades of community experience allowed her to hit the ground running and drive change from day one.
Reflecting on her first 12 months since replacing Stephen Jones and assuming office on 3 May, Ms Berry said she was now proud to have already made an impact across health, aged care, and disability sectors – three areas she was passionate about.
Ms Berry dipped her toe into politics in her 20s, driven by an interest in social justice, something that would drive her career.
Now, at 50, Ms Berry has “accumulated a lot of life experience”, including being Disability Trust CEO, Illawarra Women’s Health Centre CEO, a lawyer for the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and working on the rollout of the NDIS.
“I’ve had a lot of experience in the community, so I feel very lucky that I can bring that experience into politics as well,” she said.
Ms Berry said it meant she was able to step into the role ready to advocate on complex policy issues that mattered across disability, health and aged care in particular.
“I’m someone who really does like to have an impact, so I measure my own performance around, well, how much have we got done and what have we impacted?” she said.
She said one of the key achievements for the past 12 months was investment in health, including the opening of the Shellharbour Urgent Care Clinic; expansion of bulk billing practices in the region from nine to 26; capping PBS scripts at $25, and $7.70 for concession card holders; and investment in aged care and measures to address bed-blocking.
“An important thing for me as well is to be a really strong voice in the caucus around those areas where I have expertise,” she said.
Part of that was being on the standing committee on the NDIS and the Joint Standing Committee of Public Accounts and Audit, where she advocates for broader NDIS reforms.
“’I’ve had a lot of experience in the disability sector, working alongside people with disability and their families in various roles,” she said.
“So I have been keen to have an impact in that space, and I feel I’ve been able to do some strong advocacy within the government on that front around future NDIS reforms and the current state of the NDIS.”
She said she also had an interest in the future of other “big systems”, pointing to the $115 million federal investment that will support aged care and related services, admitting she was “working behind the scenes” on “strong practical outcomes” for the Illawarra.
A big part of her year was also being “present on the ground”, aligned with an ambitious program of mobile offices across the electorate, which spans Shellharbour, parts of Wollongong and the Southern Highlands.
“By the end of the financial year, we would have run just under 30 mobile offices … and by the end of this term, I’m keen to have held 100 mobile offices,” she said.
“I just wanted the electorate to feel that I’m very present on the ground, and that I’m very focused on them.
“I talked in my first speech about how I wanted to give a voice to people who might not otherwise have a voice in the process.
“Those mobile offices have been a really helpful way for me to get that perspective of people on the ground.”
She said through the mobile offices she had heard a range of issues, from Australia’s place in the world, particularly the relationship with the United States, through to Illawarra road congestion and infrastructure, including the M1 south-facing ramps.
In turn, what she gains from the public sessions are driving her next priorities, which includes continued advocacy on NDIS reform, and improvements in the aged care system.
“I want to also continue with some advocacy around domestic violence,” she said.
“We have, unfortunately, some of the highest DV statistics in the state here in the Illawarra.
“I want to continue to work within the community, with the police and with key local stakeholders around how we address those numbers.”
It will be the topic of a small roundtable she will host in May, along with it focusing on men’s mental health and rising suicide rates.
While policy has been key, Ms Berry admits one of the standout experiences has been seeing firsthand the depth of volunteerism and community spirit in Whitlam.
“There’s all these amazing people that give their time to the community across a whole range of activities. I feel very privileged I’ve had that access,” she said.
Throughout the past year, central to helping her transition into the role, has been her family, with a “very supportive husband” and engaged children who aren’t shy about quizzing her on government decisions, such as proposed social media changes.
She said having previously run a $230 million organisation with 3500 staff, the intensity of the workload hadn’t shocked her.
“I promised in my first speech I’d work harder than I had before, and that is what I’m doing,” she said.
“I just feel incredibly lucky to be doing this job, and I don’t take it for granted.”
