Volunteers

The Hon. A. PICCOLO (Light) (15:21): Today, I would like to talk about a couple of the volunteer-based organisations in my electorate and those who serve my electorate, given that next week is National Volunteer Week. I only highlight these as an example; there is an endless number of organisations and individuals who volunteer in our community and enrich our community with their contribution.

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge BBBfm, which is a community radio station based in the Barossa which also transmits into my electorate of Light. I was very pleased to be able to attend the opening of their new studios in Nuriootpa with our Governor and Mrs Le. The station is actually run, as I said, by a group of volunteers. The current president, Margaret Williams, and her band of volunteers, their board and other people who undertake a number of projects and shows do a wonderful job in keeping the community of the Barossa and areas engaged.

I think the importance of community radio—I will also mention the local broadcasting association a bit later—is that it does something very important: it concentrates and reflects the values and the priorities, if you like, of local communities. With the concentration of media in this country and other places in the world, local voices are often not heard anymore, so community radio plays a very important role in ensuring that those local voices, local stories and local culture are transmitted to the community at large.

I would like to congratulate BBBfm on moving into their new studios in the senior citizens' building in Nuriootpa. Previously, for some 23 years, they were at the old railway station at Tanunda, which had become somewhat dated in terms of the equipment they required.

Another group I would like to mention is the Red Cross. The Red Cross is an international organisation, but the local Gawler branch does a wonderful job in raising funds for very valuable community projects in my electorate. One project is called the X-ray recycling program. I am very pleased to say that our office collaborates with the Red Cross in Gawler to collect X-rays. They actually recycle the metal in them, and that is an important fundraiser. They also recycle old film X-rays out of the community.

In addition to raising valuable funds for a whole range of different projects, they are also a very important social group doing a lot of activities to keep people in our community from being socially isolated and to make sure that people in the community are not left behind. I congratulate Pat Suridge, the chair and president of the Gawler sub-branch, and her committee on the wonderful work they do.

Another group I would like to mention is UCare, a social welfare group originally started by a range of churches in Gawler. UCare Gawler celebrated their 25^th anniversary recently. They provide a lot of services to people in our community who are disadvantaged, people who are, for whatever reason, finding it tough in society, people who are homeless and people who are poor.

As was said on the night, the important role that UCare plays in our community is their ability to fill that gap where the government stops and the market fails. In other words, they provide a very important service to our community, and to human beings in our community, where the private sector is failing and the government does not fill the gap. I congratulate Reverend Richard Carter, who helped set up UCare 25 years ago, on his ongoing contribution to UCare and also the people involved in it.

It is also important to mention that today is Nakba Day. For people who are not aware, every year Nakba Day commemorates the displacement of Palestinian Arabs from their homes and homeland. The day marks the displacement, dispossession and dispersal of about 700,000 Palestinian Arabs, about half of the pre-war Palestinian Arab population who fled or were expelled from their homes and homeland during the 1948 Palestinian war. Sadly, this injustice continues today. They do not have a homeland, and American policy is not helping.