National Volunteer Week

Ms HUTCHESSON (Waite) (15:21): Volunteering is the beating heart of our vibrant community, and during National Volunteer Week, from 19 to 25 May, we take the opportunity to not only recognise but deeply appreciate the thousands of people who selflessly contribute their time, energy and expertise for the betterment of others. South Australia boasts a staggering 951,000 volunteers, equating to nearly 63 per cent of our population who are aged between 15 and 84. That is more than half of our adult population engaged in shaping a stronger, compassionate and more connected society. Their efforts amount to 223 million hours of unpaid work every year.

This year marks the 20^th anniversary of the South Australian Volunteer Awards, and I was very excited to hear from Andrea Stretton from the Lions Club of Blackwood that their nominee, Tom Rungie, has been successful in the finalists list for the award. Tom is a dedicated and selfless community volunteer. He plays a vital role in various local initiatives, demonstrating exceptional commitment to service. Not only has he stood the ground at the ANZAC War Memorial in Blackwood for many years but he is also a member of the Lions Club of Blackwood. He actively participates in all of their events, such as the Blackwood Christmas Pageant, and he is there every weekend at the Lions mart. He also helps me out in particular in some of the events that I put on when I call on the Lions to assist.

Tom is also a really great role model for all of the young people within the community, because he exemplifies the spirit of volunteering, and he serves as an inspiration to his peers. He also encourages other youth to get involved. His unwavering dedication and enthusiasm make him a cherished member of our Blackwood community, embodying the essence of volunteerism and community spirit, and I wish him well in the awards.

A group of volunteers that may get overlooked when we think about those who give their time in our community are our volunteer Justices of the Peace. Whilst their work is often quiet, in a room somewhere—or, in our case, at a little table in our Waite electorate office—their work is essential. JPs across South Australia witness thousands of documents every year. Their work is foundational to safeguarding against identity fraud and protecting vulnerable people by ensuring critical documents are witnessed accurately and safely.

In my office, we welcome many community members every day who are seeking this vital service, and I would like to give a special mention to the JPs who volunteer in my office to help our community: Tom Kelsey, Mike Marshall, Elaine Waddell, Peter Cahalan, Marty Forgan, Geoff Kay, Francis Muldoon, David Poole, Graeme Payne and Doug Melvin. Between them, they have signed and witnessed thousands of documents. Not only do they help our community but they also provide a listening ear.

A special mention goes to not technically a volunteer but my office manager, Daniel Clutterbuck, who is renowned in our community as an excellent, understanding and skilled JP. He gets a lot of practise. He takes the time to make sure community members know what they are signing and they have what they need, but he also just sits and listens to them. Thanks Dan and all of our JPs for supporting our community in this way.

I will just mention one more group of volunteers who are incredibly special to me, and that is our Belair National Park parkrun community, led by my co-event director, the very awesome Jason Hughes, who works so hard in his spare time to keep the run running to ensure that we have what we need and to support our volunteers. Recently, Jason launched the Blokes at the Back initiative under the banner of The Man Walk, bringing together a really great community of blokes who walk at the back of the runners and chew the fat, helping to create a safe space for a certain group who are not always very good at talking to each other. The numbers are growing, which is just lovely to see.

I have a fantastic group of volunteers in our parkrun family. Whilst I do not have time to name them all, they are there every weekend to make sure our parkrun is the best in the state—self assessed. A huge thank you to all of them. I would like to give a special mention to Karrek, Lowenek and Claire, who are our youngest volunteers. These three kids from Hawthorndene primary come along pretty much every week with their parents to help, and they just give so much.

Not only do they volunteer, whether it be token sorting or tail walking, but last year I set them a challenge to create our very own Acknowledgement of Country for our parkrun. Not only did they do it with some Kaurna language but they stand up in front of hundreds of people every weekend and remind us that we are about to run on Kaurna country. It is a very special way to start the day, and they are so brave. I thank them for being so invested in helping our community with the run as well as perhaps showing to all that they and their generation understand about why we should show our respects to 65,000 years of culture and care for the land.

Finally, the end of the fire season was yesterday. A very big thank you to all of our CFS brigades, members and their families, who drop what they are doing and come along to serve and protect our community. Without you, we would be lost. Not only do you help our communities but you help communities across the state in strike teams—thank you. Our volunteers, young and old, are our heart, and I thank each and every one of you.