On my street, nobody is anonymous.
We know each other by name. We know each other's stories.
Our children play together, watched over not just by their parents, but by an entire community.
The elderly are not forgotten. They are visited, listened to and valued.
The young are not merely protected; they are mentored, encouraged and loved.
We feel each other's pain, and we share each other's joy. We pray, laugh, and mourn together. We stand beside one another.
Every year we gather for our street Christmas party. Tradition is simply too important to lose.
There are front yards where conversations begin, backyards where friendships grow, and a street where children still come before cars.
This is not nostalgia.
This is still possible.
No government can legislate it. No bureaucracy can manufacture it.
Community is built by ordinary people who choose connection over isolation and neighbour over stranger.
I know, because I live on a street where it already exists.
I cannot help but wonder how different Australia would be if every street looked a little more like this.
English