Thank you, Sarah. And thank you to Aunty Julie. Just to pay my respects to you and the traditional owners of this country from the lands where I come from, the Yanyuwa people. It is so wonderful to be here with all of you. It has been an incredibly long journey, not physically so much as it has been emotionally for so many families here, but also right across the APY and Central Australia and here in South Australia.
Dialysis and chronic kidney disease is a real scourge for our people, for First Nations people. And wherever I travel right across the country in my role as Assistant Indigenous Health Minister, this is the one area that troubles me deeply. The one area that I see of our people on dialysis chairs, in hospitals, in units across the country, and we're getting younger. You know, we're getting younger and younger on these chairs, and that troubles me very much as your Minister. But as a fellow First Nations person, I don't want our young people to feel that this is what their future is.
So there's two parts of today. It's a real celebration on one hand, but on another hand, it's also a really important reflection of just where we are going and what kind of people do we want to be in this country in terms of our health, our lifestyle, our wellbeing and what we're doing with our young people in trying to encourage them to have a better way of life, healthy lifestyle, education and jobs. So the good news today is that the staff of Purple House and the board of Purple House for two decades have worked so extensively across all our communities, and so passionately and dedicated to wanting to ensure that those who needed these chairs, the dialysis chairs, had them. So to think that this is your twentieth community to open, Sarah, congratulations to you and your team right across the country.
I'll just tell you a little bit of a short story. Where I come from in the Gulf Country, I had to care for my mum. For 10 years she was on renal dialysis and had to move from Borroloola, which was around 1000 kilometres to Darwin, to be on dialysis. She always wanted to go home on Country and she couldn't do it. She passed away sadly in Darwin and never really had the opportunity to return home to dialyse. So there's a kind of sadness that comes with opening these units, knowing that, you know, as Sarah has said, so many of our families have passed. But the good news is, is that those of you who have the opportunity to now dialyse on country closer to home with your family, you have a better chance. You have a much better chance. And there is so much love and support, especially right here in Coober Pedy, for the opening of this unit. So I sincerely wish you all the best. I thank everyone who's been involved at every level, because we need to do this together. And like all things, if we're going to close the gap in health life expectancy for First Nations people in Australia, we have to do that together. So thank you. I officially open it, Sarah.
[Applause]