Page 428 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 18 February 2020
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unnoticed. I want to take a moment to make special mention of a number of volunteers who have worked above and beyond recently during the bushfire crisis.
Volunteers from our ACT State Emergency Service, ACT Rural Fire Service, mapping and planning support, ACT community fire units and ACT fire brigade historic society deserve a special mention for their work in protecting our city. Their work has been tireless and may at times have gone unnoticed. But their contribution is significant and has been essential in keeping our city safe and protected from the bushfires.
I would also like to take a moment to thank and recognise our community partners who have provided support and relief to many Canberrans, as well as people fleeing New South Wales and Victoria during the worst of the fires. These organisations play an essential role in our evacuation centres and provide relief, support and endless care to people in their time of need.
From 2 January to 17 January, volunteers in our evacuation centres provided respite and support to people affected by the bushfires in New South Wales and Victoria. These volunteers supported a total of 426 people. Our community rallied during this time and provided 86 nights of temporary accommodation for a total of 30 families. From 28 January to 7 February, volunteers supported the activation of another evacuation centre, and volunteers provided a place of safety and support to people in Canberra’s southern suburbs threatened by the Orroral Valley fire. Volunteers supported 238 people during this time and our community provided 59 nights of temporary accommodation to families most in need during this time.
Our evacuation centres run on the support and dedication of our community partners, including the Red Cross, GIVIT, Anglicare, Communities@Work, St Vincent De Paul, the Salvation Army, the ACT wellbeing network, Disaster Recovery Chaplaincy Network ACT, ACT SES, and domestic animal services through the ACT government.
While volunteers support our city every single day, I do pause for a moment to pay special tribute to those who have supported us during the bushfire crisis. Volunteers play an integral part in the delivery of environmental programs coordinated by the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate. Community volunteers assist in engagement in land management, wildlife programs and visitor services. Volunteers carry out a broad range of activities across our parks and reserves and provide hours of essential support.
I know many of our schools across Canberra support students to give back to our community through volunteering and community support. For example, some schools encourage students to identify a charity or community group to support and work with over a period of a term or semester, or in some cases a year or two. This forms part of our schools’ work in social and community development and support. Students learn and gain important skills through this and have the opportunity to give back to organisations, cultures and our community.
As we approach the start of the National Multicultural Festival this week, we will see even more volunteers supporting the work of our amazing festival, one of our largest
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