Saffin lobbies for award for emergency service volunteers
October 7, 2009
Page MP Janelle Saffin wants to see a new Australian Emergency Service Volunteer Award to recognise the valuable contribution emergency service volunteers make to their local communities.
Ms Saffin said volunteers protected lives and property when natural disasters like floods, bushfires and severe storms hit, and helped with the recovery process, and a national award system which recognised outstanding commitment and effort was long overdue.
“Our volunteer firefighters are already battling bushfires in the Northern Rivers region well ahead of summer, and earlier this year we saw the incredible work of the State Emergency Services and other volunteers during major floods,” she said.
“I’ve had many local people raise the issue of recognition of volunteers with me, and while there are currently other awards and medals at State level, one local man wrote to me with a suggestion that a new national medal be introduced within the Australian Honours and Awards system.”
Ms Saffin thought the suggestion had so much merit that she lobbied Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland and Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector Senator Ursula Stephens, who are now considering this.
As Chair of the Ministerial Council for Police and Emergency Management in Australia, Mr McClelland is exploring a range of options to attract, retain and support volunteers, including public appreciation and recognition through a new award.
Senator Stephens is leading the National Volunteering Strategy, which aims to find ways the Australian Government can help volunteering to flourish.
“I know volunteers don’t seek out the limelight, but I think that these people are deserving of public recognition to show just how much their work is valued by our country,” Ms Saffin said.
“An award system and the national recognition of volunteer service could also help attract more young people to the ranks of our emergency service organisations.”
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