Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I wish to publicly recognise the huge contribution that volunteers make to my Mayo community, South Australia and, indeed, Australia. Every month I travel thousands of kilometres across my electorate, meeting new community groups who have banded together to make their small corner of the world a better place.

Most recently I met with the McLaren Vale hospital volunteers, who raise funds for the McLaren Vale and Districts War Memorial Hospital through the community op-shop. I consider myself an op shop aficionado, and they have an impressive array of second-hand offerings, including electrical goods, thanks to a number of volunteers who have electrical qualifications and can test and tag. I would like to give a shout out to Trevor, who found just the perfect 1990s coffee percolator for my husband. Yes, he likes brewed coffee. The volunteers at the op shop tell me they offer more than just low-cost clothes, shoes and knick-knacks. Many people come in for a chat and a bit of company, and I find that is the case with many volunteer organisations. The McLaren Vale hospital volunteers' op shop is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9 am till 12.30pm and every first and third Saturday. While you're in town, if you head around the corner, you will also be able to drop in to the McLaren Vale and Districts RSL and have a chat to Brian, Cliff and Darryl, who provide a free pension advice service to all serving and ex-serving members of the Australian Defence Forces. They also offer a fantastic lunch on Wednesday afternoons.

Wherever I may be travelling in my electorate I am always joined in my car by another very important volunteer—community radio. Community radio is something I'm particularly passionate about because for many years I volunteered at Coast FM, and I've got to say I loved every minute it. Community radio is truly about community. It's the only place where you can have a jazz program, a heavy metal program and a gardening segment on within the same two hours. I can be at Happy FM one week chatting to Janet, a retired teacher who's passionate about opportunities for local young people, and then heading to Fleurieu FM the next week to talk about surfing and pet dogs with 11-year-old host Ryder. It's also a pleasure to talk about anything but politics with Mike from Triple Z in McLaren Vale and to discuss local issues with Diane at Alex FM on the Fleurieu. All of our community radio stations are run by volunteers for their community, and they do an amazing job.

Volunteers provide innumerable hours of their valuable time and labour, and it is a contribution that I and my community greatly appreciate. I also wish to recognise the great work of the peak organisation for volunteers in South Australia, Volunteering SA&NT, and in particular its CEO, Evelyn O'Loughlin, who tirelessly advocates and supports volunteers in my home state.

Volunteering Australia estimates that the annual contribution of volunteering to our national economic and social wellbeing is $290 billion. Australia is the great place it is today because of volunteering, but I am concerned for the future. Where are the young people who will volunteer at the op shops, who will visit our elderly in the aged-care homes and who will learn the skills needed to keep community radio stations alive? The government must take steps today to ensure the valuable services provided by our volunteers survive and thrive in the years to come. That is why I'm joining Volunteering Australia's call to the Australian government to formally recognise the contribution and value of volunteering through a volunteering statement. By issuing this statement, the Australian government could show leadership to tens of thousands organisations involved in volunteering and to the one in three Australians who participate in volunteering. A volunteering statement would be the first step in a more comprehensive and strategic approach to supporting the volunteer workforce, articulating a vision and guiding government action and investment over the long term. Our communities rely on volunteering, and we must not take it for granted.

Finally, to the thousands of volunteers in Mayo, from the Country Fire Service and surf lifesaving clubs that watch over us during these hot summer months to the kindness and joy that radiates from the Community Visitor Scheme volunteers and the elderly residents they visit: I am, we are, indebted to your generosity, and may I humbly say thank you.