Andrew Hastie (Canning, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Bruce has proven himself to be a sensationalist. His motion is full of unproven assertions and pessimistic forecasts about the future of Australian volunteerism. The most bogus claim in this motion is that the restructuring of the Stronger Communities grant program will somehow diminish the volunteer movement in Australia. This is false. The federal government will fund the restructured Strong and Resilient Communities grant program with $18 million—true. The federal government will also continue to fund the Volunteer Grants program with $10 million—true. Volunteer management programs will be able to apply for funding under the new grants structure. Volunteer support services will compete with other organisations, as is fair, for federal funding.

The restructuring of the program will not—and I quote the member for Bruce—'threaten the viability of the thousands of volunteering organisations'. These words betray a fundamental misunderstanding of volunteer work in Australia. In fact, the member for Bruce contradicts himself in the preceding paragraph where he states:

… while volunteering is defined as 'time willingly given, for the common good and without financial gain', it does not happen free, and requires the investment of resources in volunteer support services in order to maintain a professional, responsive and efficient volunteer workforce …

There are a few clangers in that sentence. He concedes that volunteer work is 'time willingly given, for the common good and without financial gain', yet states that 'it does not happen free'. Well, we know that it comes at a cost to the volunteer in time, energy and personal resources. That is the point of volunteer work: serving others in the community. But that is not what he means. He is not talking about the sacrifice of individual Australian volunteers; he is talking about the cost to government. Instead, according to the member for Bruce, volunteer work requires the investment of resources to maintain a professional, responsive and efficient volunteer workforce. He is arguing that volunteer work is only made possible by government money, by a professional volunteer workforce. That is a contradiction if ever I heard one.

But in Victoria, under a Labor government, all things are possible and indeed permissible. Witness the attempt of the Andrews government to dismantle the Country Fire Authority. Government always knows best, doesn't it! This goes to the heart of the matter. The member for Bruce argues that volunteers play an important part in delivering government priorities. He takes a government-centric view of the world—big brother knows best. They prefer to co-opt volunteers to their cause. We should not be surprised that this world view animates those opposite. But don't take my word for it. Listen to the verdict of Labor insiders who have seen the folly of their party's big government instincts. The late Peter Walsh, WA senator and Labor minister, was credited with saying:

Public enterprises have much more to do with stuffing featherbeds for their management and staff than they do with their public interest.

Peter Walsh would find himself out of step with today's Labor Party, who plays government at the centre of Australian life.

We on this side of the House take the opposite view. We have a vision of limited government, where we believe volunteers are best placed to care for the needs of their communities. Our priorities reflect the people we represent. That is why we have the Volunteer Grants program—to empower and support the many volunteer organisations that have grown up in our communities, fiercely independent of government.

In recent weeks I have had the privilege of visiting volunteer organisations in Canning that have been beneficiaries of the Volunteer Grants program. I think of Pat Smythe at the Peel Bowling and Social Club, whose club received money for its work with bowlers with disabilities and Alzheimer's disease. I think of the Riding for the Disabled Association in Orange Grove, which enriched the lives of young people with disabilities, through therapeutic and sporting horse activities. I was there only last Wednesday afternoon. To see the delight on those children's faces was something special. They do not ask for any government support, but we give it to them because we recognise the value they contribute to our community. People like these can see and serve the needs in their local communities in a way that Canberra never can. This government is empowering volunteers to do that very thing.

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