AFTER a chilly week in Tasmania it was good to return to warmer climes and work with the conservation volunteer weeders at Marcoola and Sunshine Beach. These generous people spend their volunteering hours working through sites to help preserve the natural environment. With the urbanisation of the Sunshine Coast, the importance of scarcer natural spaces requires guardians like our weeders and planters working in natural areas.
However, volunteer participation in Australia has generally declined from 2001 to 2020. This trend is supported by data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ General Social Survey and corroborated by Volunteering Australia. The decline is most noticeable among Australians aged 45–60, women, and those without a university degree.
Why are we seeing this decline? I believe some of the reasons are obvious while others not so:
Aging population leading to a decrease in the number of potential volunteers. With active volunteers retiring.
Time constraints with modern lifestyles people are “busier”, with work, family, and personal commitments.
Bureaucratic regulations and a risk averse society with workplace health and safety and other legal constraints.
Changing societal values and priorities reducing the emphasis on community service.
Contracting out and professionalisation of some services with higher formal educational, knowledge and skill requirements.
Awareness of activities performed by volunteers.
We know that the decline in volunteering will have a significant impact on our ability to stage major events like the 2032 Olympics; conduct festivals like the deferred Horizon Festival; respond to emergencies like severe weather events and to continue to preserve our natural environment.
For me volunteerism shines as a significant aspect of our national culture and it will require significant education, awareness and mentoring of young people to turn the tide.
Also, we are the second richest country in the world per head of population after Belgium and the gap in distribution of income is widening. We need a guaranteed living income and significant effort to address work-life balance. Australia is about fortieth in the world while New Zealand is number one on work-life balance.
It is Volunteers Week so let’s celebrate and act for change.