Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We've just come through council elections in South Australia, with 27 of my councils participating. I thank all of those who participated—those who were elected for the first time, those who were returned and those who were unsuccessful. They have, collectively, given thousands of hours to their individual communities. Local council is an embodiment of the high levels of volunteerism alive in our communities, and, at every level, volunteerism is what makes our communities work. On the bright side, I add as a bit of a plug for my home town of Kimba that, at 81 per cent, it topped the turnout for the council elections. Kimba was also just named by Bond University as the happiest and friendliest town in Australia, with the highest level of volunteers.

Sadly, since the time of the election, two of my immediately retiring mayors have passed away: Roger Nield of Cleve; and Robert Starr of Franklin Harbour, in Cowell. I attended Robert's funeral last Friday, and it was a very moving event. These two gentlemen gave to the very last. They were volunteers of the first order in their communities. It didn't matter how sick they were; they kept fronting up, serving their communities right to the end. I thank them for their service and I offer my commiserations to their families.