Page 1860 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 4 May 2011
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real blessing and value of being a volunteer—the joy it brings others and the sense of real achievement and personal satisfaction it gives.
I am proud to acknowledge that the ACT and Queensland share the honour of having the highest percentage of their residents volunteering their time. Ms Porter suggests over 94,000 Canberra citizens are engaged in some form of voluntary work, and that certainly is an impressive figure.
I know for myself what personal satisfaction my voluntary activities provide me. The fundraising activities for the Red Shield Appeal of the Salvation Army, door knocking for the annual St Vincent de Paul Society appeal, the sausage sizzles for numerous schools, disability and multicultural associations, and of course the football and netball clubs over the years, have all given me great personal satisfaction.
I am proud of the efforts of my Calwell community and friends in helping to establish the Calwell Neighbourhood Watch and the role that many other friends have played and are continuing to play with the Tuggeranong Community Council.
I would particularly like to highlight one voluntary activity that I and Mr Hargreaves from the other side of the chamber are currently engaged in, and that is the Celebrity Singing Bee at the Diabetes ACT Guardian Angel Gala Ball. Now in its fifth year, the ball is being held on Saturday, 14 May at the Hellenic Club of Canberra. Diabetes ACT regards this event as one of the most anticipated and arguably the most entertaining event of its kind in Canberra. It is viewed as an event not to be missed.
The Celebrity Singing Bee is the major fundraiser of the event, with nine so-called “celebrities”—their choice of words, not mine—singing for our supper and for the enjoyment, I guess we can say, of the people who will be attending. I note modestly that I am currently marginally ahead of Mr Hargreaves in the fundraising challenge. Possibly it is because my sponsors fancy if they pay me enough I will not sing, and that may be an appropriate strategy. I should add that I also thank Ms Bresnan for her contribution to both Mr Hargreaves and me for that event.
The leading fundraiser amongst our group of participants has raised over $16,000 to date and has given Mr Hargreaves, me and the rest of our group a very big task to get near that figure. My colleagues Zed Seselja and Jeremy Hanson have played a part in past years’ celebrity singing bees. But, as far as I understand, only Mr Hargreaves has so far supported this in an active way. I would encourage all members of the Assembly to perhaps look at future opportunities to support Diabetes Australia in their fundraising efforts.
The fact that the ACT public service actively encourages community service by offering leave for those who engage in volunteer work demonstrates we are a community with a heart. I am therefore somewhat disappointed that Ms Porter feels the need through the last part of her motion to mandate altruism for Assembly members. Her motion suggests that members of the Assembly lead by example and undertake at least three days of volunteering each year auspiced by a community sector organisation.
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