International Volunteer Day Morning Tea

Director-General, Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers, Ms Brownyn Blagoev; President, Volunteering Queensland, Ms Linda Lavarch; Volunteers—including of course our magnificent Government House volunteer guides, and the QAGOMA cohort of volunteer guides; representatives from the State Emergency Services, Queensland Police Service, St John Ambulance, and the many community-based organisations that are reliant on volunteers; distinguished guests. 

I begin by acknowledging the Original Custodians of the lands around Brisbane, the Jagera and Turrbal peoples, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to any First Nations people here this morning.   

One of my greatest pleasures every year as Governor is to welcome Queensland’s volunteer community here at Government House to celebrate International Volunteer Day.  

It’s the ideal opportunity to acknowledge and thank volunteers for the immense contribution they make to our State, our communities, and the lives of countless Australians. 

In particular, I welcome the volunteer guides from the Queensland Art Gallery ǀ Gallery of Modern Art and our own Government House guides, and, as patron of Volunteering Queensland, I extend a special welcome to the management, staff and volunteers of this important peak body. They are there, every day, to support organisations in managing and retaining an effective volunteer workforce, and their research was vital to the Queensland Government’s parliamentary inquiry into volunteering. 

I was very pleased to support the launch of that inquiry last December, and to see the final report delivered by the Local Government, Small Business and Customer Service Committee in just nine months. 

In that time, more than 15 public hearings were conducted throughout the state and over 500 written submissions were received from individuals, community groups, and organisations. 

The extent of the response and the rapid turnaround in reporting, as well as the creation of a ministerial portfolio for volunteers, indicate just how concerned the State Government is about the decline in participation in volunteering in Queensland since 2020. 

In that year, an estimated 75 per cent of Queenslanders participated in volunteering; by 2023, just three years later, that estimate had fallen to 64 per cent—a decline of more than 10 per cent.  

This means that reviving the spirit of volunteering is critically important if we are to sustain the many services that our society is so dependent on.  

The SES, the Red Cross, Surf Lifesaving, Neighbourhood Watch and the enormous network of 80,000 voluntary Justices of the Peace all require volunteers, as do myriad other entities and charities, including many of the organisations that Graeme and I support as Patrons.  

The parliamentary committee has made eight recommendations, calling for reforms and a reset of the volunteering experience.  

The Government is due to respond by the 18th of December, and I know that everyone here shares the hope that, by adopting these recommendations, Queensland can reinvigorate its volunteer sector and ensure it remains a cornerstone of community life and a foundation for our State’s future prosperity.  

This week, as well as celebrating International Volunteer Day tomorrow, we will see the official launch of the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development.  

This is the first time the UN has declared an international year for volunteers since the very first one in 2001. That was a quarter of a century ago and I urge you all to take full advantage of the opportunity this offers to promote the personal, corporate and societal benefits of volunteering.  

In the words of the theme for this year’s International Day: “Every contribution counts”. 

In just seven years’ time, there will be one of the most exciting volunteering opportunities in Queensland’s history—the Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

In the meantime, as Governor, I acknowledge the importance and value of the work of all volunteers and thank you, on behalf of all Queenslanders, for all that you do for the common good.