Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was recently National Volunteer Week. Of course, we've got lots of members of parliament around me here, and we all know that volunteers are the heart and soul of our communities and the amazing organisations that make those communities tick. We also heard some really exciting news in my local area of Hotham recently that 23 organisations were recognised under the 2023-24 volunteer grants, and they received a total of $63,225. That means so much to organisations in my local area of Hotham. Now, I'd love to talk to the parliament about all of those 23 organisations and all the amazing volunteers that support them, but I've only got three minutes so I'm going to give a quick snapshot of some of the organisations that I'm really proud of in my local electorate.

Dixon House Neighbourhood Centre has been operating in Clayton for more than 30 years. This is a really important and central part of Melbourne. It offers educational, social and welfare based programs, and volunteers serve as mentors for other people in the community. Manager Winston said it best, when he heard about his volunteer grant: 'Volunteer grants acknowledge the immense contribution of volunteers to our society.'

I also want to talk about the Soup Angel in Bentleigh East, a newer organisation that started up in 2020. Founder and teacher Nicole began cooking healthy soups for the elderly and other vulnerable people who couldn't go to the supermarket during lockdown. Isn't this just incredible? Now there are 50-plus soup angels volunteering today. They deliver more than 130 bowls of soup every two weeks to people who are doing it tough in our community: people who are in our homeless shelters; people who are suffering from mental health conditions. The funds that we've been able to secure for them are going towards petrol, storage costs and other things that make this organisation able to function.

I want to recognise a couple of amazing local sporting clubs. They do so much for our local area. Certainly I'm down there on the sidelines on most Saturday and Sunday mornings, cheering on various teams in my electorate. I want to mention the Clarinda Tennis Club. They're going to use their volunteer grant for uniforms and an EFTPOS machine. Treasurer Gayle said, 'Grants are a big part of keeping our volunteers, members and the general community enjoying tennis.' Steve from Oakleigh District Football Netball Club added, 'Community organisations constantly suffer volunteer burnout, and this grant provides some real positivity.'

There are some specific organisations, too, helping our littlest citizens in Hotham. There's the toy library in Springvale. It's such an amazing service for children. Team leader Tofu said: 'This program brings smiles and strengthens community bonds. The grant means volunteers can provide toys and promote sustainability by investing in shelving, storage and cleaning materials.'

There were plenty more, and that's just a small sample of the incredible work that volunteers are doing in my local community. This is one of the reasons I'm so proud to represent south-east Melbourne in this great parliament of ours, and I want to thank all of our volunteers in Hotham for the work they do.