Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week we celebrated National Volunteer Week, Australia's largest annual celebration of volunteers. I recently hosted my fifth annual Bonner Volunteer Awards to recognise some of the outstanding people in my electorate who go above and beyond to help others. At the heart of Bonner are the volunteers of all ages and groups who make up our community. That's why every year I look forward to reading the incredible nominations I receive. This year's categories included senior, adult, young adult, student, environment and group. I had the privilege of congratulating 16 local nominees as well as announcing the overall winners for the seven categories. I had award winners who had helped towns during natural disasters, spread the Christmas spirit to children with special needs, run a not-for-profit rehabilitating injured koalas, been a passionate advocate for social justice, and dedicated countless hours to volunteering at their school. All the winners have different backgrounds, but what they have in common is their heart for providing a helping hand to the community that they call home. Our volunteers are always so humble and say that they're just doing what they love, but it's so much more than that. Events like the Bonner Volunteer Awards and National Volunteer Week remind us that it is not simply a matter of recognising our volunteers but learning from them, hearing their stories and understanding how we too can play our part in bettering our communities year round. To all our volunteers, I say, 'Thank you.'