Bridget Archer (Bass, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I want to acknowledge the fantastic volunteers from Launceston Legacy. Jan, Geraldine and Cathy volunteer their time, week after week, to place wellbeing calls across northern Tasmania as part of the Legacy widows contact program. The program began about a decade ago, after Jan's husband, Peter Pfundt—who was a beneficiary when his father passed away when Peter was just four weeks old—suggested a change was needed to ensure Legacy could continue to be in contact with widows. 'As the years have gone on, there are less legatees, and they are much older. They just can't do what they used to,' Jan said. The number of widows has declined from around 1,500 to a little over 600, ranging in age from their early 50s to 101. 'The first call is very difficult, particularly with younger widows,' Jan said. 'We always ask if they would be happy for us to phone them, and nobody has ever said no.'

I'd also like to recognise the service of 94-year-old Max Jansson, who has served as the internal auditor of Launceston Legacy for 50 years—for more than half of the organisation's existence. Max's love for his volunteer work is supported by his motto 'If you don't use it, you will lose it'. Max recently received a set of four historical Legacy pins and the current centenary pin from Launceston Legacy to thank him for his five decades of service to the club.

Thank you, Jan, Geraldine, Cathy, Peter, Max and all the volunteers from Launceston Legacy who continue to support so many families of veterans in our region.