Gladys Liu (Chisholm, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In a huge boost for Chisholm's volunteers, our local community organisations and sports clubs will receive a share in more than $80 million as part of the Morrison government's 2021 volunteers grants. Volunteers are integral to many Australian organisations, with more than 8.7 million volunteers across the country giving their time for free to support their communities, without any expectation of reward. What is true of the country as a whole is certainly true of Chisolm, and I'm proud of the work undertaken by our local volunteers, particularly over the last two years as they have supported businesses and families throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

I'm thrilled that our government is able to support their work in some small way through this fantastic funding system. The volunteer grants provide organisations with grants of $1,000 to $5,000 to help make important equipment purchases, as well as to help cover expenses such as those involved in training programs or in carrying out background-screening checks.

I would like to acknowledge a few of the more than 30 local groups receiving funding through the program and to recognise their fantastic work in our community. First, we have the Family Access Network in Box Hill, which does really important work in our community, responding to the diverse needs of homeless and at-risk young people and young families. Volunteer grants funding will be used to support training around youth mental health, first aid, dealing with conflict, and trauma informed practice. I had the pleasure of meeting client services manager Michelle Thompson earlier this year to talk through Family Access Network's plan. Prior to the pandemic, their work was already extremely important; now, it is bordering on critical.

Volunteer grants funding is also going to the Monash Men's Shed in Glen Waverley. I have spoken on a number of occasions in this and the other chamber about the work of this wonderful group of locals, as well as their misfortune recently when their shed was broken into. I'm proud that our program—our government—is able to assist them in some small way, in their overall mission of supporting isolated men in our community, by providing funding towards transport costs to bring those men to the shed itself.

The final organisation I will mention today is the Victorian Tamil Association. Volunteer grant funding is going to them to support their Glen Waverley Tamil school and training for their volunteers in child safety and child psychology. Funding has also been allocated towards the purchase of digital equipment, which has, as well we know, been so important for community organisations as they have adapted to the continuing challenges of remote interactions.

These are just some of the incredible local organisations we are supporting. Apart from those mentioned, we have cultural groups, neighbourhood houses, Scouts, churches and sports clubs. All of these groups deserve acknowledgement and recognition. I'm out of time today, but I promise I will be catching up with all of you in person as soon as I can. For now, my message to all our wonderful organisations and volunteers in Chisholm is thank you for all the work that you do, and I hope you have a fantastic holiday season. You earned it.