Page 4289 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 23 October 2019
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Eleanor, and to other young women who have been in this Assembly over this week: well done, don’t be shy, and do come back.
OzHarvest
Safe Shelter
MR PARTON (Brindabella) (6.45): I rise to pay tribute to one of our great community organisations who go about their business every day making the lives of less fortunate Canberrans a little better.
Last week, as a part of Anti-Poverty Week, I had the opportunity to go out in the OzHarvest van with Des, who showed me firsthand what the organisation does. This is something that Dave Burnett from OzHarvest has been talking to me about for a long time, and it is remiss of me that I had not made it happen earlier. Finally we got there last week, and I am so pleased I did.
OzHarvest is an Australian-run food rescue organisation which collects food from local supermarkets or other commercial outlets and delivers them to more than 1,300 charities, supporting people in need right across the country. OzHarvest rescues over 180 tonnes of food each week from over 3,500 food donors, including supermarkets, hotels, airports, wholesalers, farmers, corporate events, catering companies, shopping centres, cafes and restaurants, to name a few.
OzHarvest hit the road in the national capital early in 2008, following consultation with some local community groups which were struggling to help those experiencing food insecurity or those in need of short-term assistance.
I do not know about you, Madam Speaker, but whenever I see the vans driving around town, I always assume that Dave Burnett is driving. I just always assume. I say, “There’s Dave.” I give him a wave. It turns out that there is a large volunteer contingent. It could be Dave, Des, Lisa or any number of people. I now know just how much food could well be in the back. A typical week sees OzHarvest rescuing between 9,000 and 10,000 kilograms nationally.
In the past three years, the Canberra team have rescued over 670,000 kilograms of surplus food in the local area, which equates to two million meals. It is ridiculous: two million meals over 60 charities in the ACT! It was good for me to see the reactions from some of the community organisations when they received the goods. It was a wonderful experience, and I fully support what OzHarvest do in this space.
In regard to Anti-Poverty Week, I would also like to pay tribute to my friend Richard Griffiths and the army of Safe Shelter volunteers for what they do in regard to the provision of emergency overnight accommodation during our harsh Canberra winters. They are genuine lifesavers. This year, for the first time, I have been on the volunteer roster for Safe Shelter, doing one night per month in various church halls. I have found it an extremely rewarding experience, but first and foremost I have seen firsthand how Safe Shelter go about their business. I am more than happy to go on the record in full support of the Safe Shelter concept. I hope they will have me back next year.
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