Wentworth Falls mother Catherine Murray thinks prime minister Kevin Rudd “got it” when she spoke from the heart about the strain of caring full time for her 24-year-old profoundly disabled son Jonathon and her endless worry about his future.

Mrs Murray told the Gazette a dropped pin could have been heard as about 500 pairs of eyes turned to her at NSW’s first Federal community cabinet meeting, at Jamison High School in Penrith on April 18.

“I think he was taken aback,” Mrs Murray said after the meeting.

“He took notice — I think he has to.”

Mrs Murray has been a strong campaigner for carers, especially since 2004 when Disability Enterprises’ Greystanes respite care facility for the profoundly disabled was closed down and clients had to shift to a five-bed “one size fits all” facility in Faulconbridge House.

She told the prime minister at the meeting, “I watch you very, very closely and I’m proud of everything you’ve done except for carers — it’s been a bit less, it’s silent”.

She said cradle to the grave care is a big ask and carers save the government a lot of money over the years.

“But I object to begging. Are we too difficult?”

Mrs Murray said many topics were raised at the meeting and the people of the Blue Mountains and Penrith, as well as hosts Jamison High School, represented themselves particularly well.

“I think he (Rudd) went away impressed — he said that twice.”

Mrs Murray’s speech deservedly got the prime minister and Federal families minister Jenny Macklin listening and was met by united applause from the audience.

“Kevin’s jaw dropped,” said Mrs Murray.

She said the prime minister has vowed to act on everything raised during the community cabinet meeting.

But she told the Gazette her immediate hope is that the opportunity for real progress to be made to help carers is taken at the forthcoming meeting between the Commonwealth and the States.

“That agreement is coming up in the next couple of weeks on what is spent for the next five years,” she said.

“And it comes not long after the debacle of the carers’ payments (to be determined in the May Federal budget) — probably Rudd’s only hiccup.”

There were assurances at the meeting by Mr Rudd and Ms Macklin that the pain was understood and that renegotiation of the interstate disabilities agreement — now nearly 10 months past its deadline — would address it in some way at least.