Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Citizenship and Multicultural Australia) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Bonner for moving this motion, because it gives me an opportunity to acknowledge some extraordinary people in the community of Parramatta who give their time and their capacity to make a difference in the lives of others. In my electorate of Parramatta, 21,001 people over the age of 15 volunteered in the last 12 months. That's 14 per cent of people in that age group, or one in six, who did unpaid volunteer work for an organisation or group over a 12-month period. That's an extraordinary contribution. Bravo to all the people who made that contribution to our community. You make a very real difference. I can't name you all, but I will name some today.

Parramatta Mission, as most of us know, provides meals, accommodation and mental health services across Greater Western Sydney, with almost 500 staff and many, many volunteers delivering more than 70 services across the community. They provide assistance to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in our communities to assist them in transforming their lives. Meals Plus is open for breakfast and lunch from Monday to Friday, and it provides over 35,000 meals to disadvantaged people each year. The wonderful Meals Plus is composed largely of volunteers, including Wilhelmina Goodridge, who is relatively new to Parramatta Mission. She's been volunteering in food preparation and serving for 18 months. Thank you, Wilhelmina.

The Stepping Stone program has a great volunteer, John Monk. It's a joint venture between Parramatta Baptist Church and Pathways Community Church. For over 20 years John has been the cornerstone person in the program, which provides a weekly food service for the homeless or marginalised in Parramatta—two decades of service to his community.

The Tamil Women's Development Group started in 2012. They are a group dedicated to working for Tamil women in Australia and northern Sri Lanka. Currently they're collaborating with the Cumberland Council on a domestic violence support program and advocacy for Tamil women. There are 10 incredible women volunteering with the Tamil Women's Development Group, including Viji Dhayanathan, a remarkable woman who I met the other day at their fundraiser doing great work for Tamil women.

Community Wheels provides transport services for those who are frail, older people, younger people with disabilities and their carers so they can live safely and comfortably in their own homes rather than in institutions such as nursing homes or hostels. I'm really honoured to mention just two of the volunteer bus helpers who assist clients to go shopping and attend social events. Joaquin Diaz and Robert Lavender are both well known to the clients of Community Wheels. Each of them has been volunteering for 11 years, an amazing contribution.

The Jesuit Refugee Service advocates for refugees, people seeking asylum and other forcibly displaced people in our country. Marthe Nalletamby volunteers for their Foodbank Program. She enjoys volunteering because it's an opportunity for her 'to pass that kindness on to those in our community who need it the most'. Marianne Dwyer enjoys volunteering for the Jesuit service because she likes to do 'something practical to support for people seeking asylum' and 'it is a privilege to welcome people to our local community'. They are just two of the many fabulous people that volunteer at Jesuit Refugee Service.

Evolve Housing is one of Australia's leading housing providers, managing over 3,400 social and affordable housing properties in New South Wales. Margaret has been a volunteer at Evolve Housing for more than seven years. Every Friday she calls the elderly who live alone to chat with them, providing much-needed social interaction and care, and she was awarded one of the Evolve volunteer awards recently and, as a prize, she was given a couple of days in a hotel in Circular Quay. It was the first time she had ever visited the city—she lives in Western Sydney—and she saw the Opera House for the first time, and she's well into her 70s. But she volunteers every Friday, and she has been doing it for seven years, to phone people who are alone. What an extraordinary woman she is.

At the War Widows' Guild, Rhondda Vanzella OAM, the state president, does incredible work. There are a huge array of people who drive widows around and organise social events—an incredible group of volunteers. One of my favourites, at the Merrylands Amateur Swimming Club, is Mrs Gladys Pye. She has been a member of the club since 1968, she is a life member and she has been volunteering as swim coach and administrator for 50 years—50 years—lending her capacity, what she knows, to people who, as we all know, need to learn to swim. What an extraordinary contribution—50 years with a club, giving her services.

Quickly, I also acknowledge Warren Gardiner, who has given 40 years of meritorious service to the ALP and was just granted life membership. We have volunteers across the range of activities in my community— (Time expired)

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