Government Honours Australia's Overseas Volunteers from Sutherland

MEDIA RELEASE

Released By:
Sullivan

Returned volunteers from the Sutherland area will be awarded certificates
at a ceremony on Sunday afternoon, 7 November, in Menai.

I am pleased to honour the tremendous contribution made by Australians
who have served overseas as volunteers in Australia's Overseas Aid Programme,
devoting their time and expertise to improving the lives of people in
developing countries.

These dedicated individuals are the human face of Australia's Overseas
Aid Programme. The Australian Government believes their invaluable contribution
deserves to be recognised through a programme of certificate award ceremonies.

Australians' compassion for people worse off than ourselves is well known,
with our generosity demonstrated vividly in the overwhelming response
to recent humanitarian disasters such as the tidal wave in Papua New Guinea
and the crisis in Kosovo and East Timor.

More than 5,000 Australians have taken part in these volunteer programmes
in areas as diverse as seed technology, teaching, radiography, neurosurgery
and saddle making.

On their return home, volunteers enrich our society by sharing their
experiences with other Australians and helping to maintain the links between
Australia and aid-recipient countries.

The Howard Government is providing $12.1 million in 1999-2000 for continued
support for volunteer programmes, through our Aid Programme.

We have also launched the Australian Youth Ambassadors for Development
Programme to send more than 500 young Australians to work on development
projects in the Asia Pacific region.

Ceremony Details: 3.45pm, Sunday 7 November, Club Menai, 44-60 Allison
Crescent, Menai.

Guest Speaker: Mrs Anne Petre-Black, from Australian Volunteers International,
who served in Papua New Guinea as a Hospital Administrator.