9. DARIEN FENTON (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Statistics
What statistics has he received regarding the contribution to New Zealand made by volunteers?
Hon DARREN HUGHES (Minister of Statistics) Link to this
Today is International Volunteer Day. It is an opportunity to honour and thank those Kiwis who give tirelessly of their time to our community. Statistics New Zealand is committed to recognising the part volunteers play in New Zealand life and has today released statistics about unpaid work. This information shows that 89 percent of people aged 15 years and over undertook some form of unpaid work. In addition this year Statistics New Zealand has for the first time been able to provide extra information on the over 1 million volunteers who on average spend 5.1 hours each week volunteering in our community.
Hon DARREN HUGHES Link to this
The new Non-profit Institutions Satellite Account launched in August can now measure the value of the combined 270 million hours of volunteer time as being worth over $3.3 billion. This translates to the equivalent of 4.9 percent of GDP and demonstrates beyond question how reliant we are on volunteers in the community. So it is a great day to say thank you to all of them.