A reluctance by young people to get involved in volunteering is causing problems in all volunteer organisations, a State Government Minister says.

The extent of the “ageing volunteers” problem surfaced during parliament’s Budget Estimates hearings yesterday.

Environment Minister Ian Hunter was responding to Opposition questions on cuts to grants for community groups administered by the Friends of Parks program.

More than 130 groups and their 6000 volunteers assist in the management of parks around the state.

Hunter said a problem had emerged where volunteers were ageing and young people were not getting involved.

“It is not just Friends of Parks. It applies to volunteer organisations across the spectrum,” he said.

“When I was minister for volunteers, this was an issue that was faced right across the volunteering sector.

“The ageing demographic of volunteers is being noticed right across volunteering. It is an issue that everybody is struggling with.”

Hunter said he had met with Friends of Parks president David Mitchell to find ways to encourage younger people to get involved.

“We discussed this very issue of the ageing demographic, how Friends of Parks volunteers are ageing, and that there seems to be a lesser recruitment of younger people into these volunteer organisations.

“We talked about utilising different strategies in terms of how we advertise Friends of Parks days in attracting volunteers.

“We talked about using new technologies such as social media and other aspects of actually mobilising younger people to be involved.”

A quick check the Friends of Parks website, however, shows the most recent entry is dated April 2012.

Minister Hunter’s admission of a problem with volunteer numbers is at odds with his predecessor Tony Piccolo, who launched a Volunteering Strategy for SA in February this year “to ensure that the number of volunteers continues to grow”.

“There are ever-increasing demands on our volunteers due to demographic changes, increasing urbanisation, evolving technology, complex legislation, access to insurance cover, volunteer rights, recruitment and recognition,” Piccolo said.

“We want to ensure that the number of volunteers continues to grow, even in the face of these changing community norms and our ageing population.

“We need to respond to these trends and embrace new opportunities, so that volunteering remains vibrant and strong.”

In South Australia, the volunteering effort is valued at $5 billion annually. It covers those who contribute via charity, country fire services, sporting clubs and services such as meals on wheels.