Speeches
Thursday, 21 May 2026
Reception for COTA SA Volunteers
Rod and I warmly welcome you to Government House.
As patron of COTA SA, it’s my pleasure to be joined this evening by COTA board members, staff, and above all, volunteers.
This year’s National Volunteer Week theme is ‘Your Year to Volunteer’, and I thank you all for donating your time and energy to supporting COTA.
I know you don’t seek recognition for what you do, but this reception is one small way Rod and I can say thank you and express our appreciation for your commitment to the work of COTA.
As Governor it is my privilege to meet volunteers all over South Australia.
A few weeks ago, in Bordertown, I met students who were volunteering at the local aged care home and was heartened by the cross-generational relationships that were forming between the residents and students.
Earlier this month, Rod and I had lunch with participants in the Active Ageing program in the City of Tea Tree Gully, a group that gathers at the Tea Tree four days a week.
There was a real sense of enthusiasm in the room, and it was lovely to see the volunteers supporting their participants with such care and enjoyment.
I met one participant who attends all four days and told me she would come a fifth if she could!
It is heartening to see how much volunteers can bring to people in the later stages of their lives.
COTA SA works diligently to represent the interests of more than 700,000 South Australians aged 50 and over, which is more than a third of our entire population.
Its leadership in advocacy, policy and community programs makes a profound impact on the lives of older South Australians every single day.
None of that work would be possible without you, the volunteers who contribute to policy development; who greet visitors and respond to callers at the reception desk; who provide strategic guidance through the board; who support program delivery across the state; and who, through the COTA Visitors program, offer the gift of regular, genuine friendship to older South Australians at risk of loneliness and social isolation.
I am pleased to know that COTA Visitors works to match volunteers and recipients by shared background and common interests, whether that is gardening, sport, fashion or pets.
I am also pleased that volunteers operate in rural as well as metropolitan areas, reaching older South Australians wherever they live.
That kind of connection - quiet, consistent, deeply human - is among the most important contributions a volunteer can make.
COTA SA’s volunteers do not simply support an organisation.
You are the living expression of its purpose, advancing the rights, interests and futures of South Australians as they age, one relationship at a time.
Rod and I thank you for the exceptional service you give so generously, and we look forward to speaking with you this evening.
In National Volunteer Week, we hope you are inspired to reach out to friends and family and encourage them to volunteer too.
Everyone deserves to experience how volunteering can create connection, purpose and lasting positive change.
I wish COTA, its board, staff and volunteers all the best for the future as you stand with older South Australians and their right to experience ageing as a time of possibility, opportunity and influence.