Speeches
Wednesday, 18 June 2025
Reception to thank the volunteers of the RSPCA
Rod, and I as your patron, are delighted to welcome you to Government House to thank you, the wonderful volunteers who generously devote your time and heart to the RSPCA.
Your kindness, empathy and compassion make the RSPCA what it is today. You play an essential role in enabling the organisation to fulfil its mission.
When I spoke last year at the opening of the new animal care facility in O’Halloran Hill, I sais I looked forward to celebrating 150 years of the RSPCA in South Australia in 2025 and this reception is one way that Rod and I can do so in the lead up to December.
As volunteers, you all come from a range of backgrounds, you you bring varying skills, but you are united in your shared love of animals and a desire to ensure their welfare.
That devotion is manifested in the many and varied tasks you undertake, which Marcus will attest to shortly.
Our community’s love of animals goes back a very long way.
In 1875 it was the genesis for the formation of the RSPCA in South Australia in response to the ill treatment of draught horses and bullocks in what was then a young colony.
Today the RSPCA is the oldest and largest animal welfare charity, respected for its vital work in rescue, rehabilitation, and rehoming services.
Of couse, the impact of your volunteering goes much further than your day-to-day tasks.
You also connect others to the key role that the RSPCA has in our community and help engender respect and support through your dedicated to service.
On a more personal level, Rod and I are but one household among the 69% of Australian households who own a pet. We love our Cavoodle, Alfie, who has certainly made his mark on Government House and is well known to staff and visitors.
We all love our pets so much that sadly, some people facing homelessness due to the lack of pet-friendly accommodation choose to live in their cars rather than be separated from their animal companions.
I share the RSPCA’s hopes that the new laws under the Residential Tenancies Act, for which the organisation advocated, will change that distressing scenario.
To the wider RSPCA, thank you for being the voice for animals and being their advocate alongside your role for the government as inspectors.
You have led debate on animal welfare issues, lobbied for change and instigated community outreach programs on issues such as desexing.
Sadly, the RSPCA remains under pressure, being at or near capacity, which speaks to the demand for your services and their value to our community.
While the RSPCA has at its heart a desire to end cruelty to animals, it is people that make it so: it is you.
Rod and I thank you for the part you play in helping all “Creatures Great and Small.”