Page 1538 - Week 05 - Thursday, 7 April 2005
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
that on to the 10,000 or more volunteers around the country. Nationally, Lifeline receives more than 1,300 calls each day. During the 2003-04 financial year it received more than half a million calls.
I think that it is pertinent to recall the foundation values of Lifeline because I think that they are what have made Lifeline so successful and why it continues to be relevant in our community. The core foundation values were based on Christian heritage. Lifeline was the vision of the Reverend Dr Sir Alan Walker in the mid-1960s. He saw Lifeline as an expression of the ministry of Christ to the world, reaching out to those in need. The beauty of Lifeline is that it has never worn that as a badge and it has never been seen as a particularly religious organisation. Lifeline is known to be inclusive, and I think that that is its great strength—people from different faiths and backgrounds and differing spiritual journeys work side by side, representing the whole community, and from that the whole community benefits.
Lifeline recognises that every person is valuable and worthy of affirmation and support and it is committed to overcoming oppression, exploitation and discrimination. Lifeline acknowledges a wide range of problems that people can experience—everything from relationship breakdowns to attempted suicide, loneliness, anxiety, different addictions, health problems and bereavements—and Lifeline recognises the reality of pain and suffering. It seeks to work with people to heal and renew hope in their lives.
Integral to achieving these aims is, in fact, the role of counselling, of there being a dialogue between people—because often the root cause of the problem for so many of the folk that seek Lifeline help is a sense of isolation—of a relationship being developed between people so that those in crisis know that there is at least one person, even if they are at the end of the phone, who will assist them. Ultimately there is a strengthening of a sense of community that will tackle the issues of loneliness and isolation.
Lifeline Canberra performs an incredibly valuable role within our community. I acknowledge the Christian basis to Lifeline as a great base; I think the diversity of interests of those who provide the services at Lifeline is one of their great strengths; and I think the multitude of different people and cultures served by Lifeline is one of the great benefits to our community.
The other side of Lifeline that all of us get to enjoy and love is the potential of the Lifeline book fairs. As Ms MacDonald has mentioned, we are about to be served up another gala event at the Budawang Building over the weekend and I would certainly urge the Canberrans who value, love and want to contribute something to the Lifeline service, to use the old phrase, to do themselves a favour and get down to the book fair. They will actually get the opportunity to buy some great books. You could spend a lifetime at the book fair itself hunting through the various collections and various selections, but what you are also doing is backing them up by giving them what they need, that is, cash.
The recent travails, particularly with Telstra, have been unfortunate, but I think the overwhelming support that the community came through with by saying that it values Lifeline as a service is an indication to groups that they need to continue to support Lifeline. On behalf of the Liberal Party, the parliamentary party, and all the people of
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .