Page 433 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 18 February 2020
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Now, when most Canberrans are starting to breathe easy—literally—we should not forget the aftermath and the lessons to be learned. Only last week Nathan was out again on the clean-up crew. Another day he was not able to drop Mia off at child care. Another day he was not able to put Mia to bed.
I say thank you to the countless volunteers, from the RFS to Emergency Services, police and members of our community, who gave so much during a time when others were doing it tough. I have, in this very chamber, spoken about many members of the Canberra community who volunteer every day to make our city and our world a better place. Whether it is doing an overnight shift at a shelter, cooking Christmas lunch for those sleeping rough, tutoring our new migrant students or organising events and initiatives to empower young women, many worthwhile achievements could not happen without the countless hours and dedication of our volunteers.
Today I take this opportunity to highlight and thank Nathan and his fellow RFS volunteer firefighters. Even on days when he was not out on the field, knowing that Canberra is protected by dedicated men and women who will drop everything to defend our city is an extraordinary thing. I also take the opportunity to thank the families of volunteers, especially those that serve our community in Emergency Services. I will never forget that night, lying wide awake, wondering if he was actually going to make it home, each time hearing on the news about the death of another RFS firefighter and knowing that it could easily have been me to receive that gut-wrenching, heartbreaking phone call.
I thank Mr Milligan for bringing this matter of public importance on for debate today. To Nathan—I do not always express it to him, of course—I thank him and pass on the thanks of our community as well. I will say, “Thank you, darling, but now that the fire season is coming to an end, it is time you got back to your nightly dinner duties.”
MR RATTENBURY (Kurrajong) (3.35): I welcome the opportunity to talk about the role of volunteering across the ACT and I thank Mr Milligan for bringing the topic forward. We have had a lot of discussion in recent times about the significant volunteering effort that has gone on through the terrible summer we have just experienced, from the stories Ms Lee was just sharing of the RFS volunteers to the SES volunteers who responded to the record number of calls after the hailstorm and all the unsung heroes who worked away in the background, delivering things to areas in need and playing the many other roles that have been needed during the bushfire emergency, which has extended over our region both in a vast area and for an extended period of time, and in responding to the smoke.
Even within my own party, the Greens, some of our members took it upon themselves to organise face masks for vulnerable people in the community. They just went and did that because they saw a need. They jumped in and volunteered. It was very impressive to see the work that they did so quickly.
As we think about this more generically, outside the recent summer we have experienced, we realise that volunteers are diverse and from all walks of life. Mr Milligan spoke in particular about sports volunteers. Having formerly been the
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