National Volunteer Week

The Hon. J.S. LEE (15:15): My question is to the Minister for Human Services about volunteers, noting that National Volunteer Week commences next week on Monday 18 May. Can the minister please provide an update to the council on how the Marshall Liberal government is helping to support and mobilise volunteers, particularly in response to the search and demand for the services of community organisations as a result of COVID-19?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (15:16): I thank the honourable member for her interest in this area, as she is very active, engaging with a range of community organisations where volunteers are incredibly important. There is a range of things that the government does on an annual basis to recognise volunteers. Unfortunately, our volunteer event, which is usually done in conjunction with the Cabaret Festival and the Festival Centre, has had to be cancelled because it is a very large gathering and we had to take the sad decision that we weren't able to do that this year. It is an event that is very popular with our volunteers and I think is a real treat that everybody looks forward to, to recognise and celebrate our volunteers.

We have, of course, continued to award a range of volunteer certificates to people. The Premier and myself personally sign those all individually, and those will be going out in recognition of that. A number of organisations have been asked to participate in the Colour Your Community Red program, #ColourYourCommunityRed. Everyone is invited to show their recognition for volunteers by putting a red ribbon or something similar on their letterbox or in some public manner so that we can have a public acknowledgement of volunteers.

We know that South Australia has a very strong volunteering heritage and that more than 900,000 South Australians volunteer each year in all age categories. This year, in response to the COVID pandemic, particularly in some organisations where they have more elderly volunteers, some of those people were self-isolating. Certainly, in the early days when the pandemic was upon us I think a lot of individuals were quite concerned and so would have self-isolated, and organisations ceased their activities.

What we have done in response to that is provide additional support to Volunteering SA to coordinate any people who came into volunteering as a result of having more time on their hands and who have been able to step into that space. We are very grateful to Volunteering SA and NT for taking on that leadership role and assisting organisations to match up with people who were willing to participate as volunteers.

We also, I think, should pay tribute to the volunteers who have continued to be active in a range of areas. We say thanks and show appreciation for those who work, whether they are at Fred's Van or the Hutt Street Centre or a range of organisations, to assist those organisations on a daily basis. Volunteers continue to be a very important part of South Australia's community.