Ms BADGER (Lyons) – Volunteers are what keep our communities thriving and connected. This week, 20 to 26 May 2024, is National Volunteer Week. The theme this year is ‘Something for Everyone’. Everyone can play a role and there is a volunteer service for everyone when they need it most.
There are many organisations and individuals across Lyons and Tasmania. There is not enough time in an adjournment speech to thank everyone of them individually, however I extend my thanks to all of them for their generous devotion to our communities and to one another.
Volunteer ambos, the fire service, the SES – they are all selflessly putting their hands up to assist our communities in our most dire time of need. When there are emergency, incidents, they are there for us. The situations that these people put themselves into are often dire and they require great bravery and commitment. These volunteers continue to show up for the greater good. I extend my respect and thanks to all of those helping our emergency services.
In particular, I would like to make mention of the local firefighters and the volunteer ambos in my home region in the upper Derwent Valley of Westerway and Ouse. This is one of the most dangerous places in the state in terms of the bushfire zones, and the crews did a tremendous job over summer. Likewise, those volunteering for the ambulance service are absolutely invaluable to our community, as we have no other nearby healthcare services. There is a lot more we can do in this parliament to help better support our emergency service volunteers.
Community frontline services are under the pump at the moment, with the rising cost of living, the housing crisis and efforts to support families escaping domestic violence. Without volunteers stepping up at this critical time, many people would not be receiving the much needed assistance or food through community services like the Salvos, Loui’s Van, and the Grassroots Action Network. Our Community Houses network is playing a critical role at the moment, providing food and services as well as a social connection for many across the state.
In our busy national parks, the land managers, Parks and Wildlife, not unlike the community frontline services, are severely under-resourced and struggling to keep up. Thankfully, there are volunteers in wild care that are doing a tremendous amount of work. Their numerous friends-of groups are helping to look after Freycinet, Cradle Mountain, the Tasman Island and Mount Field. These are the folk that are helping keep our walking tracks up to standard, maintaining visitor facilities, and monitoring endangered species populations such as the Orange Bellied Parrot program that is happening at Melaleuca.
Of course, we have the Landcare Groups; empowered community volunteer groups caring for the land and water across Tasmania. They manage invasive weeds, plant trees, and keep so many of our most loved coastlines, walking tracks, and parks in top shape. I mention two of these wonderful groups: The Seymour Community Action Group is a tremendous good news story. They have done an extraordinary job restoring the Seymour Wetlands through removing enormous amounts of gorse for over a decade and keeping it at bay at the moment. Those wetlands have now been added to the Seymour Conservation Area, which has doubled the size of this protected area.
The other group, although it is not in Lyons, is still very good. It is the Lime Kiln Point Landcare Group. Sue and the crew are relentlessly committed to this land around Lime Kiln Point on the banks of the Derwent River. So many people frequent the walking track that runs from Geilston Bay through to Lindisfarne and enjoy the remediation done by this group, but have no idea that it was this group that did all that work. For around a decade, the Lime Kiln Point group has removed kilometres of weeds and rehabilitated the site with Tasmanian native vegetation. While the bulk of the hard lifting has been done, they have continued on, keeping this amazing site beautiful for all of us to enjoy.
Volunteering is a challenging job, but it is also equally rewarding. We should be encouraging all who can to lend a hand where they can with whatever it is that they are passionate about; be it the local SES lifeline or undertaking citizen-scientists monitoring, through programs such as Nature Trackers. Everyone has skills that they can apply in some way and every organisation, along with its wonderful big-hearted people, can teach all volunteers something new too.
Thank you to all of our volunteers in Tasmania.
