Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week was National Volunteer Week, and I just want to take a second to acknowledge the incredibly important work of all the volunteers in our Canberra community, whether it's the people who keep junior sport running—the coaches, the umpires and the people running the canteen; the people who are maintaining the culture and language of our diverse community; the people who care for our local environment, from our catchment groups and Landcare Australia; the people who run the food pantries, feeding people when they need it the most and providing that support and comfort; the people at Karinya House who are working with women and their young families as they find a stable home and build their future; the people who are raising funds for all the amazing charities out there; the people who are bringing music and art into our aged-care facilities; the people who run our community radio stations and run the very important programs there; the carers and many, many other people that I have not mentioned. You really make our city and our country tick, and last week was all about thanking you.

I also want to acknowledge Jean Giese and the team at VolunteeringACT for the wonderful work they do in supporting our volunteers, celebrating their work and making sure that volunteers are treated as best as they can be in our organisations.