Page 1537 - Week 05 - Thursday, 7 April 2005
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I would urge everybody in this place to lend assistance to help make the Lifeline book fair a success. While it is too late to do so for this weekend’s book fair, books for the spring book fair can be dropped off at the Belconnen, Griffith or Queanbeyan libraries and the Lifeline warehouse in Mitchell, or Lifeline couriers can pick up the books. People can also volunteer to help out during the fair by selling books and restocking shelves. Again, I would urge everyone to become involved in this worthy cause. Of course, it assists those people who are bibliophiles and book lovers all round to be able to go there and purchase books from the Lifeline book fair. I know that I am looking forward to being able to get along there this weekend and purchase some books for my bookshelves, which are already groaning, but I am sure that I will find room for a few extra.
Finally, I commend and thank Lifeline Canberra and all those associated with the service for providing constant advice and support to the ACT and surrounding regions. Lifeline Canberra certainly is a valuable part of our community and one that I know this community cannot do without.
MR SMYTH (Brindabella—Leader of the Opposition) (3.37): Mr Speaker, before we discuss Lifeline and what it actually does, it might be nice to acknowledge that in the chamber today we have representatives of Lifeline’s staff and board and I would be very pleased if they could take back to the staff, the volunteers and the board the best wishes certainly of the opposition and I am sure all other members of the Assembly, and the gratitude and thanks that the community has for what they do. You are to be congratulated, ladies and gentlemen.
Mr Speaker, some not-for-profit organisations have achieved a pre-eminent position in our community. One of those is Lifeline. Lifeline is an Australian institution. I think that that is why people trust it and why people use it. People who are in trouble think of Lifeline, people who are in need of quick assistance think of Lifeline and people who are not necessarily mobile and are not conveniently situated think of Lifeline. I think that they do that because over the years Lifeline has developed a reputation for delivering what people need and remaining in touch. Often organisations do not change and the community does, but Lifeline is one of those organisations that have been able to grow with their community.
Lifeline Canberra has established itself as a significant contributor to our local community. Lifeline Canberra has been providing a telephone counselling service to this region since 1971, more than 34 years, and it now provides a range of services. It has a crisis phone service—the core telephone counselling service—available 24 hours a day. It has a youth support network. It assists people with gambling problems, including the Clubcare program it runs with a number of ACT clubs. I think that the Clubcare program is an indication of the level of support that this organisation has from its community. Lifeline Canberra provides financial advice and advice on suicide prevention.
To put Lifeline Canberra into a national context, it is part of 42 Lifeline centres located in metropolitan and regional centres around Australia. They utilise more than 10,000 volunteers; they are the backbone of the provision of services offered by Lifeline. Again I offer our thanks to our local volunteers. It would be fabulous if they could pass
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