Page 1858 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 4 May 2011
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a significant benefit to the individual involved in the volunteer effort, improving their wellbeing, giving them opportunities and skills they may not otherwise access and building their networks and contacts within the community. And it is well known how much volunteering adds to our social capital.
However, the uptake of the three days paid leave by ACT public servants, which forms part of the ACT public service agreement, is not known to many and is not consistently taken up by public servants, which is why this motion calls on the government to more widely promote this entitlement.
I am sure this is something which all ministers and their departments and agencies—or directorates as they will soon be called—will embrace. It is also worth noting that the agreement also has a special provision for employees who volunteer for an emergency service such as the SES.
I also note that in this Assembly we too support volunteering through the Legislative Assembly members’ staff collective agreement which says:
The parties recognise the community partnerships between the ACT public sector and volunteers, and the valuable contribution to the ACT community that volunteers make.
Accordingly, the Assembly will support employees who take part in volunteer activity where employees choose to do so. Of course choice is central to the activity of volunteering as the word “volunteer” actually comes from the Latin word which means “to will”; in other words “to choose”. As well as promoting these provisions within our public service, the ACT government also urges members of this Assembly to encourage their staff to become involved in some community work of their choosing. There is a wide variety of activities on offer and it is important for anyone volunteering to remember to choose an activity that they believe will suit their lifestyle and their motivations the best.
In closing, I call for this Assembly to show tripartisan support for the final part of this motion so that we can show leadership in giving our time selflessly to help others. I commend this motion to the Assembly.
MR DOSZPOT (Brindabella) (6.18): I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion in support of National Volunteer Week, which will be celebrated in Australia this year from 9 to 15 May.
That great reference tool Wikipedia defines volunteering as “the practice of people working on behalf of others or a particular cause without payment for their time and services. Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life.”
I note that National Volunteer Week is the largest celebration of volunteers and volunteerism in Australia. It involves over five million Australians from every state and territory and every age group. Australia has around 700,000 not-for-profit organisations, 95 per cent of which rely largely on volunteers.
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