Pollies on communal tour
BOTH Jewish House and Wolper Jewish Hospital opened their doors to members of the state government recently.
BOTH Jewish House and Wolper Jewish Hospital opened their doors to members of the state government recently.
Minister for Family and Community Services Brad Hazzard joined Coogee MP Bruce Notley-Smith at Jewish House to see the organisation’s work firsthand and meet with CEO Rabbi Mendel Kastel on Wednesday, August 19.
That same day, Notley-Smith also toured Wolper. “I hadn’t been to Wolper for over 30 years, going back to when I was an ambulance officer,” he told The AJN.
“It has an excellent name in the community, an excellent reputation.
“I was very fortunate to be invited by CEO John Tucker and president Daniel Goulburn, and to have a look around and meet many of the staff. And what an impressive facility it is.”
In regard to Jewish House, Notley-Smith said he had told Hazzard “a number of months ago … that he simply had to come out and meet the team at Jewish House because of the fantastic work that they do”.
“I wanted him to see the premises firsthand and meet the rabbi and hear about the wonderful things they have been doing and continue to do, but also to hear about their plans for the future, in particular dealing with homelessness and crisis accommodation,” he said.
“Day in, day out they do such terrific work for the community. I believe you’ve got to get the minister’s head around that and understand what these groups are doing out there, and assist them in any which way we can.”
Rabbi Kastel said: “It was great to have the minister visit Jewish House and see what we do up close.
“We discussed the need to expand our services and some of the challenges we face in helping people.”
Wolper also hosted a delegation from Woollahra Council the previous week. Accompanying Mayor Toni Zeltzer were Deputy Mayor Greg Levenston and councillors Ted Bennett, Luise Elsing, Jeff Zulman, Anthony Marano, Susan Wynne and Sharon Campisi.
Wolper president Daniel Goulburn spoke to the councillors about the hospital’s history, its place in the local community, the various outreach programs and the Wolper Foundation, established to support health and wellbeing initiatives in the broader community.
GARETH NARUNSKY
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