Today I was pleased to co-host a special function for Tasmania’s volunteers with the Premier to mark International Volunteer Day.
International Volunteer Day provides an opportunity to formally recognise and thank volunteers from around Tasmania and celebrate the contribution they make to our society.
Today also marked the official launch of The State of Volunteering Report— truly innovative work that seeks to measure the extent of the social, economic and cultural value of volunteering to Tasmania.
This report highlighted that four out of every five Tasmanians donated a staggering 7.1 million hours of their time in 2014.
The worth of that volunteering has been assessed at $4.9 billion—about the same amount as the State Budget.
Tasmania’s volunteers give freely of their time, money and effort to support the wider community, filling varied roles, including volunteer ambulance officers, fire-fighters, charities or the mums and dads that run our school sport teams and tuckshops.
It is the volunteering spirit that builds that trust in each other that breeds strong communities.
I commend Volunteering Tasmania for all their efforts in producing this insightful study.
The Liberal Government is committed to supporting Tasmania’s volunteers and growing the volunteering ethos.
Guy Barnett, Parliamentary Secretary to the Premier
