For seven years, I have carried my adult son Ben down the dangerous rock stairs at Safety Beach just so he can reach the water. Seven years of lifting him in my arms, praying I don’t fall, hoping we don’t get hurt. I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this.

Ben is 24. A car accident in 2017 left him paraplegic, but that hasn’t stopped him from becoming an athlete—he’s now captain of Collingwood Football Club’s wheelchair squad. But getting to his favourite place, the beach, has become almost impossible. He just wants to feel independent, to be able to get onto the sand without relying on me to carry him.

For years, I’ve been working with Mornington Peninsula Council to get an accessible ramp built. It was finally approved, and funding was allocated—but once again, it has been delayed for another year. Meanwhile, people like Ben, elderly residents, and parents with prams are left without safe access. No one should be turned away from the beach.

I won’t be able to carry Ben down forever. He—and so many others in our community—deserve safe access to our beaches. Please sign and share this petition so we can finally get this ramp built.