VOLUNTEERING

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (15:16): My question is to the Minister for Volunteers. Will the minister provide an update on the state of volunteering in South Australia?

The PRESIDENT: The Minister for Volunteers.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (15:16): Thank you, Mr President.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order! The minister has the call.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Thank you, Mr President; thank you for your protection at this rowdy hour.

The PRESIDENT: No; you don't need my protection.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I thank the honourable member for his most important question. I also congratulate him on his ongoing interest in all things volunteering. It has been a fantastic year for volunteering in our state. Most importantly, I am pleased to announce that the most recent research undertaken into volunteering in South Australia shows that some 71 per cent of our population volunteers their time in some way, either formally or informally.

The Hon. A. Bressington interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Well, that's just not so, Ms Bressington. Volunteering is a very important facet in people's life. All of us, I imagine, volunteer our time at different times in our life, and it is vitally important to our community. We should not underestimate how important it is to the health of our community.

The Hon. A. Bressington: Absolutely not.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Mr President, the Hon. Ms Bressington seems to be downplaying the role of volunteering in our society. I invite her to come out with me—

The Hon. A. Bressington interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Your dismissive attitude, Ms Bressington, really depresses me. Volunteering is one of the very important ways that social inclusion—

The Hon. A. Bressington interjecting:

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Volunteer firefighters are very important. I was out with them only two weeks ago—out in Port Lincoln at the fire near Tulka—and I can tell the Hon. Ms Bressington how much they value their volunteering to their state and their community. They get an incredible amount of value by putting back into society.

The Hon. A. Bressington: Including their right to medical treatment?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: The Hon. Ms Bressington and others are now chiming in, deriding the role these people play in our community, and I reject that—I reject it outright.

The Hon. A. Bressington interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: The minister will answer the Hon. Mr Maher's question and ignore the Hon. Ann Bressington 's interjections, which are out of order.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I will do my very best, sir. I have just reported to the chamber that current research shows that volunteering in our state is up to 71 per cent. Similar research conducted by the same body, I understand, in 2006 found that 51 per cent of the population volunteered some of their time. Even 11 years ago, in about 1995, research found that only 28 per cent of the population volunteered their time.

As you can see, sir, volunteering contributions have climbed significantly over the past decade or so. Whilst I would not claim that the government has been totally responsible for that, certainly our recognition and support of volunteering through policy-making has aided that climb in volunteering. I have to say that the outstanding non-government organisations in our community, which are making it easier for people to volunteer, must take a great deal of that credit. One such body is Volunteering SA/NT.

Recently, I visited the Volunteering SA/NT annual general meeting to celebrate 30 years of its operation in Australia. It was 30 years ago when Mavis Reynolds and Joy Noble started the Volunteer Centre of South Australia. They were trailblazers for our community. They recognised the benefits that volunteering brings to individuals and society in general, even if the Hon. Ms Bressington does not. They were driven by their shared beliefs and their own experiences in volunteering.

Last year, Volunteering SA stood with the Premier to re-sign our partnership with the volunteer community—the Advancing the Community Together partnership. Volunteering SA's continued leadership in the sector, promotion and advancement of volunteering and provision of an extensive range of services, support and resources for volunteers and volunteer organisations are truly commendable and has helped our state meet that 71 per cent target.

Another body which has supported volunteers and which is also celebrating 30 years of volunteering is our Adelaide Zoo. Volunteering at Adelaide Zoo began in 1982 with just six volunteers; and these days across the three Zoos SA sites of Adelaide, Monarto Zoo and the Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary, there are around 500 active volunteers.

Volunteers are a crucial part of Zoos SA and perform a variety of duties, ranging from guiding visitors, providing information, fundraising, collecting data for research and preparing food for the animals. There are some other aspects of volunteering done at the Zoo which might not be for the fainthearted but, if any members have an interest in wielding a scalpel, one can also volunteer to dissect corpses and add to the scientific information that the zoos provide for our state—animal corpses, I hasten to say, sir.

In addition, they assist with promotional events. They develop activities for the animals and contribute to the Kids Club and the youth program. Not only do the volunteers need to know about the Zoo, its animals and where everything is located, they also need to know about the Royal Zoological Society and conservation issues.

None of this, however, would have been possible if it was not for the preparation the Adelaide Zoo provides each volunteer, which is rapidly becoming known as best practice in the sector. Prior to commencing their roles, Zoos SA volunteers undertake extensive training in one of the 17 programs offered across the three sites. Zoos SA is universally recognised as an organisation that supports and appreciates its volunteers, demonstrating its appreciation for the hard work of volunteers through 'active service' awards and other celebrations.

It is organisations like Volunteering SA and Zoos SA which have helped us get where we are today in the volunteering sector—71 per cent of the population, more than 830,000 volunteers, all contributing (if you are an economist) over 1.41 million volunteer hours per week, and this is worth about $5 billion a year to the state economy. Volunteering is alive and well in South Australia, and, together with the leaders in the non-government sector, I will be looking at ways to continue this success in coming years.