It’s great to be here at what is indeed a gathering that unites all the various disparate forces in this parliament – The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Greens, the Leader of the National Party. There isn’t a member of parliament who wouldn’t applaud what we do today, because wherever there is trouble, there is the Red Cross to lend a helping hand. I was in Emerald early last year – a town that had been devastated by floods and who did I see organising the relief centre, but Jane Prentice MP – not there as a member of parliament, but there as a member of the Red Cross and it was terrific to see her there being useful, which is what the Red Cross is – in trouble in trouble-spots. I was a tourist, she was useful.
The Red Cross has 85 regional offices around our country, it has tens of thousands of volunteers in its ranks. It provides 750,000 breakfasts to kids that might not otherwise get fed, every year. It assists tens of thousands of Australians every year. The Red Cross volunteers are amongst the best of us and by forming this parliamentary friendship group, we do of course salute them. It is the strength of our people, which is the strength of our country. It’s not the things we have to do, it’s the things we choose to do that make us fully human. It is not the things we do for money, it’s the things we do for love that make us a great people and Australians are a great people. The Red Cross and their work is a manifestation of the spirit of our people so I am delighted to be here. I am delighted to join my senior parliamentary colleagues in saluting the Red Cross on this special day.