Page 427 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 18 February 2020
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Before I conclude I also want to promote the annual volunteering awards, which are currently open for nominations. These awards will take place on Tuesday, 19 May and are an important way for us as a community to say thank you. There are various categories to recognise the many ways in which volunteers contribute to Canberra. I look forward to hearing some of the inspirational stories that will come from this event. I am sure we will see lots of fantastic examples from the sport and recreation sector. For more information on these awards or on how to get involved in volunteering, check out the VolunteeringACT website.
MS ORR (Yerrabi—Minister for Community Services and Facilities, Minister for Disability, Minister for Employment and Workplace Safety and Minister for Government Services and Procurement) (3.13): Today I would like to discuss the important matter of volunteering in the ACT. As many of you know, our volunteers provide essential and vital support to our community. Volunteers make our city stronger, more inclusive and more sustainable.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our volunteers. I thank them for their contribution, their dedication and their amazing skills. Without volunteers, our city would not be the vibrant, inclusive and participative city that it is. Across our city, thousands of volunteers give their time every week helping others, organising sporting activities, participating in and arranging cultural activities, and, of significant importance, preserving our natural heritage.
This government is committed to supporting and valuing volunteers. The ACT volunteering statement guides this work and provides an inclusive and supportive vision for volunteering in the ACT. This government is committed to our volunteers. Our statement sets out the four principles of “recognised, valued, diverse and supported” as the underpinning principles for our volunteering platform.
To ensure that we continue to deliver on this statement, the government has developed an action plan to support the delivery of the statement. This action plan was developed through consultation and draws on the initiatives and ideas of hundreds of people across the city.
We know that volunteering plays an important role in the ACT community and contributes to building healthier and more resilient individuals, communities and natural environments. The value of volunteering simply cannot be understated.
Volunteering provides significant benefits and contributes to the cultural, social and economic value of the Canberra region. But it is not only the region that benefits from this. Volunteers themselves enjoy many benefits gained through volunteering. Our volunteers tell us that they are motivated to volunteer for lots of different reasons, but many enjoy giving back to the community and making a difference to others. Ninety-five per cent of volunteers surveyed identified that volunteering enhances their personal feelings of wellbeing.
There are many services across our territory that rely on the work of our valued and essential volunteers. The work of these tireless and skilled individuals does not go
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