Red Cross Volunteers
| About this Item |
Subjects | Red Cross; Voluntary Workers |
Speakers | George Mr Thomas |
Business | Private Members Statements |
Page: 3664
Mr GEORGE (Lismore) [12.31 p.m.]: I pay tribute to the people in an organisation not only in the Lismore electorate but right across Australia. I refer to the volunteers and others who work so hard for the Red Cross. I have been quite involved with the Red Cross since May this year, and I want to place on record the contributions made by branches of the organisation not only in the major communities in our area but in outlying country areas. On 3 May I was guest of honour at a day to celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the Wiangaree branch of the Red Cross. Just on 100 people turned up and had a tremendous day celebrating this occasion. This very active branch does a tremendous job for the Wiangaree community—typical of branches throughout the Red Cross network.
National Blood Donor Week was held in July, and more than 100 people were awarded for donating on 50 to 150 occasions. They have made a great contribution to the Blood Bank, which is based in Lismore and has outreach centres. On that day the Red Cross Blood Service Public Relations and Marketing Co-ordinator for New South Wales North, Catherine Hurley, was present, as was Jeff Johnson, a representative of the National Australia Bank, the major sponsors of these awards, to recognise the contribution of these donors. All made it a very memorable occasion.
There are various zones of this organisation in each of the electorates. In my case, they are zone 2 and zone 27. On 7 August I was honoured to open the zone 2 conference. Mrs Ivy Tegge is the Broadwater Branch President and Mrs Veheideh Hosseini is the Regional Manager of the Red Cross and was guest speaker on the day. We were entertained by the students of Broadwater Public School. The zone 2 conference covers towns like Alstonville, Ballina, Bangalow, Bonalbo, Broadwater, Byron Bay, Casino, Tabulam, Tintenbar, Tuckurimba and Wardell branches, all of which had representatives at the zone 2 conference celebrations. It was a tremendous day.
On 1 September I had the honour of opening the zone 27 conference, which also was held at Wiangaree. Mrs Jenny Ryan represented zone 27, along with Mrs Muriel Phillips, Wiangaree Branch President. Mr Ken Hastie, General Manager of Funding for Australian Red Cross, was also present, as were Mrs Veheideh Hosseini, Regional Manager, and Scott Krueger, Regional Fundraising Co-ordinator. I would not say it was a con, but he encouraged me to take part in a lock-up day next Saturday to raise funds. So I encourage everyone to make contributions, because I do not want to be locked up for too long.
Mr Fraser: We might pay to keep you in there.
Mr GEORGE: If you want to pay to keep me in there, I will accept all donations. I am sure I speak on behalf of all members when I say this is typical of the work that the Red Cross does in each and every one of our electorates. The branches that constitute the zone 27 conference were Clunes, Doubtful Creek, Georgica, Jiggi, Kyogle, Wiangaree and Lismore. The work done by volunteers through Telecross, the Tracing Agency, Cosmetic Care, the Carer Support Program, Trauma Teddy and the Mobile Blood Bank is magnificent. But I want to say a little more about Trauma Teddy. The regional manager dropped about eight of these into my office. When you have constituents in the office who start to get a bit teary, and you give them one of these teddies, they walk out with a smile on their face. That is greatly appreciated. To members and everyone associated with the Red Cross throughout the State, but especially in zones 2 and 27, I say thank you for the support that you have given our community to make it a much better place in which to live. I pay tribute to the Red Cross. [Time expired.]