Celia Hammond (Curtin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I occasionally hear it said that these days people are less civil than they used to be, that we care less about each other and we've lost a sense of community. Now, if you live your life solely on social media and/or permanently attached to Twitter and see some of the comments and the debased debate which frequently occurs on those forums, it's not hard to sometimes share these sentiments. But we've also been reminded this year of the empathy, the eagerness to help one another and the altruism that defines so many in our community.

Last Saturday was International Volunteers Day, and the volunteers in the Curtin community truly reflect the best of what we have in this country. I have been amazed by the organisations and the individuals who stepped up to help one another this year—the Rotary Clubs running food drives for Foodbank, the National Seniors Australia Western Suburbs branch keeping members connected through Zoom; the 430 amazing people in Curtin who volunteered through my office to do food deliveries to vulnerable constituents or drop off hand sanitiser; or the volunteer surf lifesavers who will continue their longstanding service of keeping us safe on the beach this summer.

Ninety seconds is not long enough to describe all the deeds or names of all the organisations. So, to all the volunteers in Curtin, I simply say: thank you and Merry Christmas.