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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2011-11-08 Daily Xml
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YOUTH VOLUNTEER SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:14): My question is to the Minister for Youth. Will the minister provide the Legislative Council with an update on the Youth Volunteer Scholarship Awards?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (15:14): I also thank the honourable member for his most excellent question. The former minister for youth (Hon. Grace Portolesi from the other place) announced in June this year a new program entitled Youth Volunteer Scholarship Awards. The intention of the awards is to both reward and also recognise young people aged up to 25 years, who are currently volunteering, with a scholarship to assist them in ongoing studies, whether this be at university or in a vocational setting.

A total of 118 applications was received, and I was very pleased to announce as one of my first acts as Minister for Volunteers and Minister for Youth the 24 successful candidates who have received a scholarship. While I made that announcement as the Minister for Volunteers and the Minister for Youth, there is really a nice connection between these portfolios and my other responsibilities as Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion. As we all know, the importance of volunteers in our communities and the way they engage with communities through volunteering contributes hugely to social inclusion and the social capacity of our communities.

The quality of all the candidates was extremely high, and I must say it was humbling to read about the various efforts of these young people in their local communities giving their time to others amongst the hectic lives we all know many young people lead. A program total of $30,000 was distributed amongst 24 young people from across our state. Thirteen were from the metropolitan Adelaide region and eleven others were from all around regional South Australia.

Let me apprise the council of just one example, that of Mr Shane Cook, aged 19, from Salisbury, who began as a participant in the Twelve25 Salisbury Youth Enterprise Centre's Aerosol Art Flexible Learning Options Program, where he found a passion for art and youth mentoring. He hopes that gaining greater accreditation in visual art will help him in his youth work, particularly in schools. He will use his scholarship to pursue studies in visual arts and crafts painting techniques to extend his volunteer work with troubled young people.

Another recipient, 19-year-old Adelaide Hills resident, Theadora Tomlian, has volunteered for the last four years with EMT Ambulance South Australia. Currently volunteering over 17 hours per week, Theadora has since worked her way up to becoming a community ambulance officer and will use her scholarship to pursue study in the field of emergency care.

These examples just touch on the many wonderful things young people are doing for our communities. We know as a government that the ageing of our population means our volunteer base is getting older and at the same time the demand for volunteer services is growing, so attracting and retaining young people in volunteering roles is crucial. We also know through research undertaken by the University of South Australia that people who volunteer are more likely to be employable and have improved career opportunities and higher incomes. In fact, sir, as you may know, I began my path to paid employment past university days as a volunteer at the Queen Victoria Hospital, as it was then, in the microbiology laboratory, after which I was successful in getting employment at Flinders Medical Centre.

The awards will run every year, and I encourage all members of this house to think of the many young people they know giving back to their community and to encourage them to apply for awards in future years.

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