MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Billson
Almost 600 Australians are having a go abroad as dedicated volunteers
leading Australian aid efforts to fight poverty, the Parliamentary Secretary
for Foreign Affairs Bruce Billson, said today.
'Australians aged from 18-80 are working in 25 countries, from Thailand
and Sri Lanka to Swaziland and Cambodia, selflessly contributing energy and
skills to support communities in need overseas,' Mr Billson
said.
'The Asia-Pacific region is highly vulnerable to a range of natural
hazards including tropical cyclones, floods and landslides and Australian
volunteers are often one of the quickest and best ways Australia can help
devastated communities.
'The tragedy of the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 rallied more than 10,000
Australians to offer their assistance. The Australian Government funded
the deployment of over 400 aid workers to tsunami-affected areas - including
doctors to Indonesia, teachers to the Maldives and child protection workers to
Sri Lanka.
'In both disasters and longer term development projects, volunteers are
supported by the Australian Government's overseas aid agency AusAID, and
placed on assignments to play a critical role in helping locals to help
themselves.
'Australians have a strong record of volunteering - since the 1960s,
more than 10,000 Australians from a diversity of professional backgrounds have
volunteered abroad. In 2004 almost 6.5 million Australians volunteered about
863 million hours of their time both in Australia and overseas.
'Volunteering in developing countries is not always easy however the
work can be as inspiring as it is challenging and I encourage people to get
involved,' Mr Billson said.
In 2005-06, the Australian Government is contributing more than $26 million
to volunteer programs such as the Government's own Australian Youth
Ambassadors for Development and works in partnership with Australian Volunteers
International, Australian Business Volunteers and Volunteering for
International Development from Australia.
For further information on how you can get into volunteering or profiles of
Australian volunteers please visit the AusAID website at: www.ausaid.gov.au.
Media inquiries:
Shane Fairlie (Mr Billson's office) 0408 680 442
AusAID (Public Affairs) 0408 485 560