COMMUNITY SERVICE ORGANISATIONS

The Hon. R. WORTLEY (15:43): I rise to speak about the Association of Community Service Organisations and the Premier's community service awards that I recently attended on behalf of the Premier. The Premier's community service awards are a celebration of the remarkable achievements of service clubs in South Australia. Those clubs recognised for their outstanding efforts include Lions, Rotary, Apex, Soroptimist, Zonta and the Kiwanis. South Australia's service clubs and their many volunteers make an enormous contribution to people's lives, helping out those most in need and truly making a difference in the community.

We have a wonderful tradition of volunteerism in South Australia. South Australia has one of the highest participation rates in the nation, with more than 600,000 of us being active volunteers. Each service club has its fine traditions; traditions developed and nurtured over many years of service to the community. The Lions Club works to answer the needs of challenged communities around the world, participating in a variety of projects important to its communities. Those projects range from cleaning up local parks to providing supplies to victims of natural disasters. The Association of Lions Clubs has provided millions of people with the opportunity to give something back to their communities.

Members of Rotary provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world. As signified by its motto, 'Service above self', Rotary's main objective is service in the community, in the workplace and throughout the world. Members of Apex work together to service their community's greatest needs by promoting service, fellowship and community spirit. The Soroptimist International Club of the South West Pacific is one of the four federations in the world's largest classified service organisation for business and professional women. Soroptimists are executive women of all ages, culture and ethnic groups who work through a program of service to make a difference to women throughout the world.

Zonta selects, funds and participates in community projects, as well as supporting the work of the international foundation. Zonta selects service projects in various countries to benefit the legal, political, economic, educational, health and professional status of women around the world. Kiwanis are volunteers changing the world through service to children and communities. Kiwanis members help shelter the homeless, feed the hungry, mentor the disadvantaged and care for the sick.

The Premier's Community Service Awards highlight and acknowledge some truly outstanding cases of people and projects making a real impact and delivering great long-term benefit to their community. Volunteers are vital in all aspects of community life, including in schools, hospitals, sports and recreation, and emergency services. Volunteers are our communities' most valuable members. They are vital to the strength and vitality of our society. The South Australian government is committed to supporting and developing the community sector. The importance of volunteering is reflected in South Australia's Strategic Plan. The plan not only sets out many economic targets but also contains many targets which are aimed at improving individual and family wellbeing by building strong supportive and inclusive communities.

In a brand new initiative to enable volunteering to flourish, $200,000 worth of funding will be offered to local councils to set up volunteer resource centres in their areas. These centres will provide referral services and a central hub for volunteers. The funding will also provide free training opportunities for volunteers and volunteer managers, empowering them to learn new skills to share with their communities.

Programs, such as the Community Voices program, give screen studies students at Flinders University the chance to work with volunteer organisations to produce promotional and training videos, and the government's partnership with the School of Communication at the University of South Australia allows students to work with community groups to create free websites. These programs benefit both students and community groups. They provide students with real life education and provide community groups with the knowledge to operate more effectively. Volunteers are our communities' most valuable members. Without them our communities would not survive.