Justine Keay (Braddon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today is Wear Orange Wednesday. I have a little bit of orange on for you today. The day recognises the efforts of thousands of State Emergency Service volunteers across Australia who help serve their communities in floods, storms and other emergencies. Considering this week is also National Volunteer Week, I would like to acknowledge the many hours put in by about 170 volunteers for the SES in my electorate, whether it be the assistance provided to residents and properties during the Tasmanian floods in June last year or the 1,100-plus hours of support during the devastating fires just six months prior to that. The SES is always there to help. In both of these emergencies, fire service volunteers also provided exceptional leadership, support and assistance.

Tasmania's 600 SES volunteers have also continued to provide road crash rescue services across rural Tasmania and many have worked alongside Tasmania Police in a significant number of search and rescue operations for lost or injured bushwalkers. Many of the volunteers also sacrifice their long weekends and valuable family time to staff driver reviver sites as part of the broader road safety initiatives to encourage motorists to take a breath and reduce fatigue during their travels. Of course the SES is just one example of the contribution of volunteers in our community, so thank you to all of them and to those who go above and beyond and are there to help in such times.