National Volunteer Week

Ms HILDYARD (Reynell) (16:13): I rise to speak about my support for volunteers during this National Volunteer Week, a week when the contributions of volunteers are recognised and we thank them for the work they do for our community. As members know, volunteers are the backbone of our community.

They provide support for our most vulnerable citizens. They deepen the vital work of our community and health organisations. They preserve our natural environment, respond to state and local emergencies, patrol our beaches and support families, carers and people experiencing disabilities or periods of ill health. They are involved in schools and engage others in the arts. They make a difference in the lives of many.

Being a leader is both inherently personal and deeply collective: collective in that we do our best work when we focus on a common goal for a great outcome for many, and personal in that, to lead and to give, we must make a personal decision to do something differently, to act. That is exactly what our volunteers do day in and day out. They are leaders who give generously of their time and effort in the service of others. That is remarkable, and I thank them for their generous hearts.

I know in my own southern community that thousands of hours of volunteer work are a key part of what makes our community such a great place to live and to work. I see the same people selflessly volunteering at schools, whether it be Morphett Vale, Christie Downs, Lonsdale Heights, Christies Beach, Port Noarlunga, Hackham West or O'Sullivan Beach primary; then at the Morphett Vale, O'Sullivan Beach, Lonsdale, Christies Beach or Reynella footy clubs; then at Christies Beach Meals on Wheels; at CFS Morphett Vale; Christies Beach, Port Noarlunga and South Port surf lifesaving clubs; at our community centres; and for Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, Zonta and so on.

Whenever I am asked about what I love about my role, I talk about these people and how their generosity inspires me. Thank you to all volunteers for their tireless work to make communities across our state the connected, kind and resilient places they are. Volunteering changes people's lives for the better through the work that volunteers do with and for others in our community and through the types of communities we create when we lend a hand to everyone within them.

Across South Australia, the volunteer work of South Australians equates to an incredible economic contribution to our state of $4.9 billion each year. Our communities are stronger and better as a result of these contributions. On a week when we should be celebrating this effort, the federal Liberal government is clearly demonstrating that it does not recognise the importance of this work and that it does not similarly support volunteers. It recently announced $23 million in cuts to the volunteering sector, cuts that will mean a cessation of designated funding to volunteering support services.

This means that funding for the Strengthening Communities program alone will shrink from $40.5 million to $28.4 million over the next four years. Volunteering support services are local community organisations that help organisations identify, place, train and manage volunteers. They ensure that those who wish to volunteer can find meaningful roles that harness the energy and talents of an individual to improve the lives of community members. They also work positively with the many organisations that rely on volunteers.

There are four of these services in our state: Southern Volunteering, based in Christies Beach, ably led by the wonderful Mel White and John Smith and supported by staff with vast expertise; Volunteering SA and NT; Northern Volunteering; and the Limestone Coast Volunteer Service. As a result of the federal government's impending cruel cuts, these outstanding services will no longer be able to fund training and recruitment, essential services that ensure that volunteers have the support they need to effectively undertake their roles and that organisations safely and positively engage them.

Volunteering does not just happen. Volunteer support services provide planning, support and leadership. Like any other sector, volunteering needs peak bodies to provide infrastructure for the organisations and personnel involved. Local organisations rely on these services, and their ongoing ability to do so is under threat. Last year, the State of Volunteering in Australia report found that 86 per cent of organisations involving volunteers were struggling to get the numbers they needed, with volunteers deterred by factors such as personal expense and a lack of flexibility. By further reducing funding for support services, this worrying figure will rise.

Southern Volunteering, an organisation that strongly contributes to the strength and vibrancy of our local community by providing support, training and services for volunteers and organisations engaging them in the south, is one of many organisations across our nation that will be stripped of vital federal funding. I know how hard and innovatively Southern Volunteering staff already work within limited budgets and I see the results they achieve through the delivery of their high-quality services.

This federal Liberal government is not providing organisations like Southern Volunteering with the stability to plan their work into the future. This work is transformative for our community, transformative for those who volunteer and transformative for those whom volunteers support. Despite these impending cuts, the federal social services minister has failed to provide organisations like this one with crucial information about the current dire funding situation. This Liberal government cut to services is enormous and its effects will be felt across our state.

I call on every member of this house and particularly on those opposite, many of whom I know support volunteers, to condemn these cuts to services and call on the federal Liberal government to reverse them.