Paul Walshe (right) and Mayor Kenrick Winchester, hold a 2017 petition supporting the respite facility. Photo: QPRC Mayor Kenrick Winchester/Facebook.
An advocate for Yvonne Cuschieri House warns the facility could soon become a “white elephant”, as local politicians renew their support.
Queanbeyan resident Yvonne Cuschieri OAM formed an advocacy group after her son Steven was diagnosed with a brain tumour.
She and her husband became his carers and following Steven’s death in 2013, Mrs Cuschieri started campaigning for a youth respite centre.
Mrs Cuschieri continued to push for a respite centre until her death in 2021 and the charity she helped launch continued the campaign.
By mid-2026, Respite Care for QBN chair Paul Walshe warned a lack of ongoing funding and an operator would see the six-bed building sit completed, but empty.
Mayor Kenrick Winchester said it was time Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional Council (QPRC) renewed its push for operational funding for the facility, known as Yvonne Cushieri House.
“I know the local members have both tried their very best to get traction within their own governments. That seems to be stalling.
“It’s got to a point now where I think council needs to attempt to assist.”
As part of the motion, the council unanimously voted to request urgent meetings with NSW Premier Chris Minns and NSW Health Minister Ryan Park on funding options.
But if this can’t be obtained, councillors and Respite Care for QBN representatives are set to head to NSW Parliament to meet with state politicians.
Mayor Winchester said the plan was inspired by a dispute between Dubbo Regional Council and the NSW Government over funding for a multi-million dollar sports centre, with that council using a similar tactic.
“They didn’t end up getting the whole $50 million,” he said of the outcome.
“They’ve gotten a significant amount of funding and traction within their own community … I hope we don’t get to that point.
“But if we do, I think it’s something we can learn from Dubbo Council about a way of making sure all elected MPs and MLCs across the state are aware of the situation that we find ourselves in.”
Councillors also agreed to waive $4351 in outstanding lease fees for the group.
Fellow councillor Esma Livermore used her comments to pay tribute to Mr Walshe’s advocacy.
“It’s a sad time,” she told the meeting.
“I just want to acknowledge the hard work that [Mr Walshe] has been doing behind the scenes with this.
“If the local MPs have not been getting the support … us getting behind this, and supporting it, hopefully, will drive some change.”
For Mr Walshe, the support from QPRC is welcomed, but he said it left the future of Yvonne Cushieri House unknown.
“They were two motions we were very grateful to get,” he told Region after the meeting.
“Whether they have any luck, I suppose you could say, in getting a meeting … I don’t know.
“Whether this is successful in the NSW Government committing operational funding, I don’t know.”
It’s expected the facility’s landscaping, being completed by Yvonne Cushieri’s sons, will be finished by late October.
“The building sits there empty; we’re doing the landscaping,” Mr Walshe said of the facility’s state.
“We’re hoping, praying that we get some funding, so we can appoint an operator to own and operate … [and] deliver what Yvonne wanted it to be.”
Mr Walshe previously told Region the board estimated it would cost $1.6 million a year to operate.
He said the lack of funding meant challenges had left Respite Care for QBN without an operator willing to take it on without that commitment.
