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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, Second Session (52-2)
2012-03-13 Daily Xml
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COMMUNITY VOICES

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (15:05): My question is to the Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion. Will the minister inform us how the Community Voices program is helping community organisations to promote their service and recruit 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) (15:05): I would like to thank the honourable member for his penetrating question, as always. The Community Voices program is a wonderful partnership between the Office for Volunteers and the Department of Screen and Media Studies at Flinders University—a fantastic university, and I might go so far as to say it is one of the greatest universities in Australia; not that I have any particular bias towards Flinders University, but it does have a wonderful biomedical research program.

The Hon. G.E. Gago: Where did you study?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: Strangely enough, Flinders University—indeed. The program has students working with volunteer organisations to create documentaries and community service announcements—things that used to be called television commercials but these days can reach a much wider audience by doing something called 'going viral' on YouTube—but, as community organisations insist, the Community Voices program also provides for the purchase of airtime at a reduced rate so that the community organisations are able to run their commercials on the old-fashioned telly.

The aim of the program is to assist community organisations to promote and market their activities and create opportunities to increase volunteer participation. Successful applicants to the program are assigned Flinders University Screen Studies students to work closely with them to develop and produce concepts and materials that promote their organisations. This is a unique and positive initiative that demonstrates how government, education and community sectors can work so well together.

The successful applicants for this year's program support a range of needs by delivering services in the disability, youth, welfare, training and education sectors. Some of the successful community organisations for this year's grants include the Muscular Dystrophy Association of South Australia, Riding for the Disabled Association of South Australia, Blue Light SA Inc. and Prison Fellowship Australia.

Prison Fellowship Australia is an organisation that assists prisoners to reintegrate into the community upon release. It aims to create a television commercial that will promote the organisation and recruit volunteer mentors to engage with vulnerable youth who are at risk of offending or reoffending.

Another example of the Community Voices program is Blue Light SA Inc. Supported by SA Police, it provides entertainment for young people in a drug and alcohol-free environment. Blue Light SA is hopeful that a television commercial promoting the organisation and the programs that it runs will help to recruit volunteers to that organisation. I congratulate this year's awardees and encourage honourable members to publicise this program to community organisations they work with in their role as members of this house.

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