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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2009-02-19 Daily Xml
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VOLUNTEERS

Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (12:39): I move:

That this house thanks the many volunteers and community organisations that provided care to elderly and vulnerable people during the heatwave.

When I gave notice of this motion, we were experiencing a very long and very hot heatwave. We were experiencing temperatures we had not experienced during the day since 1939 (so, I did not make it) or ever before in terms of night time temperatures. We were all in a state of shock. The forecast as I recalled it at the weekend was that it was going to be very hot on Tuesday and that on Wednesday it would start cooling down. I was thinking that Wednesday was my watering day and that I would be able to fix up the pot plants with the hose, that is all right, but it did not stop. It kept on getting hotter and hotter and, as there was no cooling down overnight, our infrastructure collapsed, the trams got too hot, as did the transformers, and we were really wondering what was going on and whether we were prepared for it.

We were so focused on ourselves that we overlooked the fact that in the UK trains and aircraft were stopped because of the extreme cold and also because the infrastructure was not able to cope. That horrible experience that we had now fades almost into insignificance when we look at what happened in Victoria as a consequence of that dreadful heatwave. However, at the time we were shocked and started to worry about the vulnerable people in the community and we were aware that older people in particular had experienced an increased rate of death.

It is important to put on record the response of some of our community organisations that swung into action immediately to look after the vulnerable and older people for whom they care on a daily basis. Tuesday was the day that it was expected to be hot, Wednesday it continued to get hot, and that day many community organisations using paid staff and volunteers were out there caring for our most vulnerable.

For instance, the Street to Home Service advised that it was carrying extra water. St Vincent de Paul accommodated extra residents and opened its doors during the day. Many of the city day centres were offering bottled water and increased home visits to clients. Where there were organised recreation activities, they focused on cool activities, such as taking clients swimming or to places where it was cool. The Hutt Street day centre and Westcare offered additional food so that a meal was available in the heat of the day. The Hutt Street day centre requested that the Royal District Nursing Service assist staff in monitoring the well-being of clients visiting the centre.

The Street to Home Service provided additional visits to clients as well as providing water for rough sleepers they located, and all agencies identified a commitment to maintaining their extended services for an ongoing period when extreme heat conditions were present. The Adelaide City Council, as I think we all know, opened the city bus concourse 24 hours a day to provide a place of refuge. Government agencies were asked to make their air-conditioned lobbies available to people looking for some shelter and refuge, and people were also asked to provide water to people coming to the house.

Where agencies knew that their clients had no airconditioning, they provided even further visits to see how those clients were coping. They took fans to people, until they could no longer buy fans in the shops. Agencies then started to suggest after a few days other ways that the government might be able to help further, and they asked for bus tickets and taxi vouchers to enable some of their clients to attend medical appointments—and this was done. The mobile assistance patrol in the city focused on the inner city to reduce the waiting time for attention to day-time drinkers, and that was done also, recognising that people having difficulty with alcohol are again particularly vulnerable.

Then there were all the phone calls. Staff in the Office for the Ageing contacted all Home and Community Care agencies to make sure that they were enacting their extreme heat policies. All the agencies had extreme heat policies which, from the information to hand, they had overwhelmingly put into action on the Wednesday. So, they were looking after their clients. Additional services were provided to culturally and linguistically diverse groups that needed information translated about how to care for vulnerable people—and all people—during times of extreme heat.

In the disability area, about 13,000 clients with a disability were monitored by phone and extra visits. They also have a very comprehensive climatic heat stress policy. All agencies that provide funding or act under the auspices of the Disability Services Provider Panel are required to have climatic heat stress policies.

Other agencies referred people to the Red Cross contact service, which has for many years provided telephone calls to people, often on a daily basis, to see that they are okay. Those phone calls were increased, and visits followed where a need was identified. Supported residential facilities were checked. All but one have air conditioning in communal areas, so residents were allowed to sleep in those areas during the heatwave. All facilities were providing additional water, cordial and iceblocks for hydration.

All the agencies have been asked to again review their business continuity plans to ensure that, in the light of the extreme conditions we experienced, they are able in the future to provide for the needs of their clients just as rapidly as they did this time and to see what other services they might need to provide.

Some of the issues that were identified in phone calls included clients with faulty air conditioners, and servicing was organised for those wherever a service person could be found. In vulnerable cases, again, there were extra phone calls and visits. Routine visits included a heat health check on clients, particularly in the disability area.

It was also identified that in some circumstances we can do better with our databases, and what is now being looked at is the ability to identify people on a geographic basis so that, when there is an awareness of an extended blackout, services can be moved to that area, people visited and phone calls made to ensure that those who are experiencing even more extreme conditions are cared for.

Much of this extra work was done by volunteers, many of whom are themselves elderly. However, they came out and did what they could, without putting themselves at risk, to ensure the safety of other people in our community. And isn't that just what Australia is about!

On a very local level, I know that a number of MPs called their older constituents to see that they were okay. I do not know the stories about volunteers in other offices, but in my own office two people who had always worked in manufacturing areas and had never rung people on a cold-calling basis sat there and used an office phone. They said, 'No; the air conditioning in the office is working pretty well.' They were very happy to come in and undertake that service.

The people making the phone calls, especially the young trainee who also volunteered to make some, were very surprised by the resilience of our older community. They received many statements including, 'Oh, I've been there before, dear,' or 'I lived for ages without air conditioning, I've got the wet flannel on my neck.' We made about 1,000 calls and only one person did not appreciate the call. Indeed, one of the volunteers who had been brave enough to make calls received a box of chocolates the next week. It was a lovely experience all round.

Just as is happening with the bushfires, Australians do respond. An important thing to recognise in this case is that the organisations that care for some of our most vulnerable people were better prepared than we realised. Perhaps they were better prepared than the trams, but I do not want to make any comment on the engineering issues involved with the trams. We all know that complicated electrical equipment has to cool down overnight. If it is used for too long, things go wrong. So, of course, there were problems and we did not like it, but in comparison with what has happened in so many other places in the world experiencing extreme climate change, we did okay.

It is very reassuring that our agencies were so well prepared; that they were ready; that they were able to get extra volunteer help, as well as extra staff help; and that they were then able to go to the government agencies looking for more backup where it was required and got it. Everyone is comprehensively reviewing what needs to happen in these situations in the future. We hope they will not be more frequent, but last year we had an extreme heatwave in March. We do not know what we are facing. The message is: keep on doing what we have always done well. Get in there and do something, instead of expecting that everyone should have done something else. We can do it. We can survive as a community, and we will. Thank you again to all those volunteers.

Mr PISONI (Unley) (12:52): I support the motion. One of the things you realise when you become active in your community—whether that be through your business, being a member of parliament, a local councillor, a volunteer, or in whatever manner—is the value volunteers bring to your community and their importance. It is doubly important to remember to thank the volunteers for the work they did during the heatwave, because if we relied on the government, it would have been an absolute disaster. I think that, on the first day of heatwave, the government issued a press release—and we had a big media release—about the fact that people should not use their air conditioners and do other things to keep cool. Very bad advice, I would suggest, for the lead-in to what was the longest heatwave in our history, even bigger than the heatwave of 1939. Then we had the text messages sent late at night giving people a phone number to ring which did not work.

I am pleased that we are recognising the work of volunteers. I would like to extend the recognition of the work of volunteers not just for the work that was done to provide care for the elderly and vulnerable during the recent heatwave but to what happens every day of the year. I am fortunate that, several times a year, I participate in a Meals on Wheels run in my electorate of Unley. What stands out when I visit Meals on Wheels, or when I am sitting in the passenger seat while one of the volunteers is driving and I jump out and open the boot and grab the hot meal, the soup and the dessert, is how meticulous they are in ensuring that dietary requirements are met. You will see the meal for the diabetic. You will see the meal for the person who does not eat dairy or who does not eat pork, or whatever. A lot of care and consideration is given to preparing meals for those special requirements.

The volunteers get to know their clients, and the personalities and routines of the people who are receiving the Meals on Wheels service. Of course, they are the first people who know if something is not quite right; for example, if the garden looks different from the last time they visited or if there is a crack in the window or the screen looks like it has been tampered with or the door is open. They are usually the first to alert authorities if something is not right or to give aid or assistance or to make inquiries as to the wellbeing of the person they would otherwise visit with a meal.

You meet amazing different personalities. I have met a number of people when I have stopped for a quick conversation—because, of course, we have a tight schedule to meet for these deliveries. It is amazing to hear the history of some senior people in the community and how they themselves have given to the community in their younger years.

The thing I like about living in Unley is that it has a great volunteer culture, which is recognised by both the City of Burnside and the City of Unley with awards for volunteers. I have attended a number of volunteer awards ceremonies in the City of Unley, where volunteers are recognised for five, 10, 15 and even 25 years' service. The community bus is an asset which is used enormously to help some of our older citizens to move around the city, whether it is to go to the senior citizens centre for lunch or the Unley Shopping Centre for their weekly shop.

It is amazing to hear about the range of people who offer to drive that bus, their backgrounds and their history; everyone from retired business people to retired tradesmen and everyone in between. They all have one thing in common: they are in a position and willing to give something back to the community. They enjoy doing it because it is a very satisfying position.

I also make special mention of the work that the Salvation Army in Unley does. It is a tremendous organisation, under the leadership of Rino and Ros Elms. They are about my age but they look a lot younger than me. Since they have come into the district, the amount of work they have done in the community has been extraordinary in helping and assisting families who are struggling. Despite the perception of Unley, we have a significant number of Housing Trust tenants and public housing in the electorate.

Many of those people placed in public housing do not necessarily have the support they need to live independent lives, although they are given that responsibility. Rino and Ros Elms have been fantastic in giving those people a sense of purpose and helping them aspire to greater things in life. It is extraordinary, really, when an aspiration or aim for someone is to be able to prepare their own meal. It is great that organisations, such as the Salvation Army, are helping people—who have had difficulties being in control of their life—to grab control of their life and have some independence.

I cannot finish without mentioning the great work they did on Christmas Day. I was talking to one of the helpers at the Christmas Day lunch that the Salvation Army prepared. Mr Ian Pearson was there, and he said it was a great day and about 80 meals were served. It was a very special day for those people. It was the first time for a long time that they had a full three-course meal. I understand that it was delicious and very much enjoyed by not only those who received the meal but also those who served it.

I commend and endorse this motion. I value the contribution that volunteers make not only in my electorate of Unley but also throughout the state of South Australia.

Ms THOMPSON (Reynell) (13:00): The motion did focus on the extraordinary dedication of agencies and volunteers during the heatwave. I want to stress that they were operating under very difficult circumstances. We recognise the contribution of volunteers throughout the year, but, in particular, we recognise what happened during the heatwave and the way in which they responded to a local emergency.

Motion carried.


[Sitting suspended from 13:01 to 14:00]


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