Electricians volunteer for 'Outback Links' farm revival

NECA apprentices will participate in a 6-day ‘Outback Links’ farm revival in the drought-afflicted region around Lightning Ridge in North-Western NSW this April. This trip is a follow-up from one in November 2014 where volunteers worked on 30 local properties. The volunteers include plumbers, mechanics, electricians and carpenters.

Frontier Services, a national agency of the Uniting Church in Australia, has been helping people in remote Australia for more than 100 years. Since 2005, the agency’s volunteers program Outback Links has grown to more than 1000 volunteers who travel to remote properties to assist families through difficult times.

Under the supervision of professional tradespeople and host farmers, the volunteers will repair broken equipment like tractors, motor bikes and farm machinery, and rebuild infrastructure like sheds and homes. “The majority of Outback Links volunteers are retirees,” said Outback Links Coordinator Kate Parsons. “However, the need today is for an intergenerational shift involving bringing in a younger generation of participants. The future of volunteerism, in fact, depends on it.”

“The apprentices who are going on this trip are this new demographic, aged from their late teens upwards. They are giving their time, know-how and energy, and Outback Links is the vehicle for getting them to remote regions where their efforts are hugely appreciated and where they will have authentic experiences of working on the land,” added NECA NSW Executive Director Oliver Judd.

As well as providing apprentices to work on this project, one of NECA’s NSW members will also oversee the work of the electrical apprentices. “We are all contributing to this worthy cause - and I think this is pretty typical of tradies in general, to pitch in and help share the load,” said Mark Wilson, a director at Laser Electrical Orange/Ted Wilson & Sons. “We are a family business and have always been committed to our local and wider area community, and our guys have all done their bit,” he added.

Outback Links acknowledges the educational, trades, business and philanthropic partners who are helping make this trip possible: SALT (Supporting and Linking Tradeswomen), NECA (National Electrical and Communications Association), NRMA, Mirvac, Laser Electrical Orange, Mudgecorp, TAFE Western, Bunnings and Parkers Organic Juices. Special thanks go to the Vincent Fairfax Family Foundation and Ian Potter Foundation.