Page 1857 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 4 May 2011
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have contributed to this effort by implementing a surcharge on takeaway coffee cups; a surcharge that customers are willing to outlay as they find it will increase the capacity of Greening Australia to plant more trees and shrubs to restore our environment.
The practical support provided by volunteers in emergencies can be life saving. Contributions to post-disaster rebuilding work provide an invaluable boost to community morale. We have seen this important contribution highlighted in the recent tragic events that occurred in Australia, New Zealand and Japan for instance. We of course saw this outpouring of community spirit and tremendous effort at the time following the 2003 firestorm in the ACT.
In addition to providing vital community services, volunteers and volunteer organisations are a key contributor to government-community consultations as they work closely with the community on a day-to-day basis.
The importance of voluntary work is being increasingly recognised by governments and communities alike. In Canberra the generous spirit involved in giving time and resources to neighbourhood and national scale projects fosters belonging, participation, ownership and cohesion within the diverse ACT community. It is not always recognised except by the volunteers themselves.
A number of ACT government agencies already have specific policies relating to volunteers and volunteer programs that they can be proud of. An ACT government volunteer statement would represent a whole of government approach to recognising volunteers, ensuring a consistent approach across government, and would support organisations working with volunteers by developing a framework of principles on which support for volunteering was based.
There is a range of ways in which volunteering is supported in the ACT. It is supported at an organisational level by organisations both within and outside the government. Many businesses have employee or corporate volunteer programs, recognising, as I said, that the majority of volunteers are in the paid workforce as well. These schemes, such as those supported by a number of large and small corporations alike, enable staff to take time off during the year to volunteer and also assist staff to source appropriate volunteer activity.
Volunteering is supported by legislation. When volunteers work with organisations in the ACT they are covered by the Work Safety Act 2008, which provides detail on health and safety in the workplace, and this recognises that volunteering is indeed important, unpaid work.
Volunteering is also supported by the ACT government. ACT government staff can apply for leave, both paid and unpaid, to participate in volunteering activity. This leave reflects what I just mentioned, that it is provided and supported by corporations and businesses in the ACT.
Volunteering not only contributes to the organisation or activity that a volunteer is involved in and is of huge benefit to the community; additionally and importantly it is
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