Making a difference

BETTE Bonney says Warwick would not be the same without volunteers.
“Volunteers are the backbone of how Australia survives,” she said.
“If all that work was dependent on funding it wouldn’t happen.
Australia-wide 6.1 million people, or 36 per cent of the Australian population aged 18 years and over participated in voluntary work in 2010, with women more likely to volunteer than men.
Queensland has an estimated 1.2 million volunteers.
In emergency situations alone, more than 40,000 Queenslanders committed in excess of 27 million minutes of their time volunteering in 2012.
Regional towns are home to our charitable spirit, according to the Australian Tax Office.
While exclusive suburbs give the largest amounts to charity, they aren’t a match for some of our smallest and most remote towns where as many as eight out 10 locals give to charity annually, despite average incomes in some areas less than $50,000.
Nanango is Queensland’s most charitable town with 6.7 out of every 10 taxpayers donating an average of $153.42.
Less than four out of every 10 taxpayers in Surfers Paradise donate to charity.