Bert Van Manen (Forde, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I had the pleasure recently of formally thanking nine Australians for their work as volunteers abroad. I had the pleasure of being joined by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition at a ceremony in my office several weeks ago to present certificates to those volunteers as appreciation for the work that they have done in various countries around the world, and particularly in the Pacific. The certificates formally acknowledged the volunteers' contribution to the Australian overseas aid program and represent a very sincere thanks from the nation for their service.

The recipients of these certificates of appreciation were Melanie Arnost, Ron Brown, Anthony Dundon, Lou Fornasier, Juana Katzer, Deborah Ralf, Alexandra Robertson, Brock Schaefer and Arthur Wynn. These volunteers have worked in places such as Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Mongolia, Thailand and Cambodia. Many of the people in these developing countries were greatly appreciative of the work of these volunteers, and the work that they have done has been a great credit to Australia. Speaking to them during that event, they shared their experiences, they shared what they got out of it, and they said they thoroughly enjoyed it.