House of Assembly Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3) 51 3 Parliament of South Australia House of Assembly published Question Time Emergency Services Volunteers EMERGENCY SERVICES VOLUNTEERS The Hon. P.L. WHITE House of Assembly Taylor EMERGENCY SERVICES VOLUNTEERS The Hon. P.L. WHITE (Taylor) (15:05): My question is to the Minister for Emergency Services. What has the government done to recognise emergency services volunteers and the employers of emergency services volunteers? The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT House of Assembly Lee Minister for Police Minister for Emergency Services Minister for Recreation EMERGENCY SERVICES VOLUNTEERS The Hon. M.J. WRIGHT (Lee—Minister for Police, Minister for Emergency Services, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:05): On 16 September, the Premier, the member for Light and I attended a community cabinet breakfast at the Salisbury CFS headquarters. At the breakfast the Premier presented eight Premier's Certificates of Achievement to recognise outstanding volunteer service. The recipients of these certificates had shown great dedication and commitment to volunteering in emergency services. As a government we recognised some time ago that we needed to do more to recognise and thank our SES and CFS volunteers, and that is why at the same ceremony I had the pleasure of presenting certificates of recognition as part of SAFECOM's Volunteer and Employer Recognition and Support Program. Following on from the success of the community cabinet breakfast in Salisbury, there was a breakfast on 20 October at the Morphett Vale CFS, which I attended with the members for Reynell and Mawson. Twenty-one emergency services volunteers were recognised at the ceremony with Premier's Certificates of Achievement, including Mawson Group CFS Deputy Group Officer Ian Taverner, who has been with the CFS for 40 years. Also, I again had the opportunity to recognise employers and self-employed volunteers through the Volunteer and Employer Recognition and Support Program. Employers of emergency services volunteers report that they benefit from having volunteers who are team players, disciplined and well-trained in many different emergency procedures (including first aid) and who are willing to step up and take on leadership roles. Employers who take a socially responsible approach to volunteers also contribute to the fabric and resilience of their communities. The government recognises that we have a role to play in ensuring that our volunteers and their employers feel that their contribution is valid and that their time and efforts are genuinely appreciated.