Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I have spoken on numerous occasions in this place to acknowledge the outstanding contribution of volunteers in the Dobell community. As I have mentioned before, the noblest aspect of a volunteer's work is their dedication and commitment to a safer, healthier and stronger community. Volunteers do not set about their day for personal gain. They do it to genuinely improve another person's quality of life and, in many cases, to save lives. Each year in Dobell, over 16,000 men and women give their time through volunteering.

One of the great joys of being a member of parliament is the opportunity to meet and support these volunteers and the organisations to which they belong. Recently, I was grateful for the opportunity to catch up with volunteers from the Central Coast Volunteer Rescue Association as they celebrated 40 years of service to the Central Coast community. Many people assume that the VRA is part of the New South Wales police or the SES when, in fact, the VRA is a stand-alone rescue association manned by volunteers.

The New South Wales Volunteer Rescue Association was formed in 1969 and has approximately 3,700 members. Last year, volunteers attended 10,803 incidents involving 104,612 operational hours, assisted 5,219 persons, rescued 3,199 persons and, sadly, removed 58 deceased persons. Over and above this, volunteers spent 119,302 hours engaged in other activities including training, meetings, regional exercises, equipment maintenance and fundraising. In total, these amazing men and women gave approximately $5.5 million, in monetary terms, of their own time to assist others. The VRA played a prominent role in the recovery efforts at the Granville train disaster and, more recently, on the Central Coast in the aftermath of the April storms.

The Central Coast VRA was formed in 1975 in response to the growing need for the Central Coast to have its own rescue unit. Tragically, during the mid-1970s, before the M1 was established, the Central Coast portion of the Pacific Highway was one of the deadliest stretches of road in New South Wales and without a local specialised rescue unit. Today, Central Coast rescue is a volunteer organisation supported by local businesses and community members. As with all New South Wales volunteer rescue associations, the Central Coast VRA provides support to the population of the Central Coast 24 hours a day, seven days a week, helping anyone, anywhere, anytime. Based at Wyong, the unit has two vehicles operated by a squad of 40 volunteers. During the storms, these 40 volunteers were out there every day helping as many people as they could, and I commend them for the work that they did.

So, the next time you see your VRA at your local shopping centre raising money, please be assured that the money is going to a good cause to help and save others, and please give generously.