Volunteers are the backbone of the community said Mr Guy Barnett, Liberal candidate for Lyons today.
“Tasmania’s volunteers give freely of their time, money and effort to support the wider community”, said Mr Barnett. “Where would we be without our volunteers? Our volunteer ambulance officers, fire-fighters, the Salvos or the mums and dads that run our school sport teams and tuck shops and the countless many more are essential.
“It is the volunteering spirit that builds that trust in each other that breeds strong communities.”
Mr Barnett’s comments, which marked International Volunteer Day, came as data from the recent “State of Volunteering Report 2012” (Volunteering Tasmania) showed that Tasmanians were more likely to volunteer than most other Australians.
“The figures show that 41% of Tasmanians formally give of their time and effort to help others, compared with the national average of 36%,” said Mr Barnett.
“Tasmanians are doers and generous. We punch above our weight for sure and this is particularly so in the regional and rural areas, said Mr Barnett. “We should be doing all we can to support and promote both our volunteers and the growth of self-sacrificing volunteer spirit in Tasmania.”
Mr Barnett volunteers for a range of community organisations including Motor Neurone Disease Australia and Diabetes Australia as Ambassador.
Mr Guy Barnett, Liberal candidate for Lyons
