Russell Broadbent here, your Member for Monash.
This week is National Volunteer Week, where we celebrate the diverse passions and talents everyone brings to volunteering.
There are currently more than five million volunteers across this Nation - and we have more volunteers in regional areas compared to capital cities.
Just a few weeks ago, I visited the Mirboo North Storm Cell Volunteers to seek an update on the progress that’s been made since the catastrophic storms in February.
This storm flattened forests, sheered off massive trees at their base and ripped apart buildings in the small community of Mirboo North. The damage done is simply indescribable.
As is often the case, it wasn’t the council or emergency services that were the first ones to assist Mirboo North after the storm had passed - it was the local community.
Not that the council were not great at their response, just that the locals were first on the scene.
And it’s been the local volunteers that sustained the recovery, donating resources and assisting with the clean-up. It’s not over yet.
It’s so important to get out and volunteer in your local community, not only are you bettering the lives of those who you are helping, but you will no doubt make some long-lasting friendships through it as well.
Our volunteers in Monash are resilient, compassionate, hardworking, and dedicated – and more than ever, I thank them from the bottom of my heart for their selfless work across our communities.
That’s justice as I see it.
