When Debra Ong calls, the community answers. A large part of BlazeAid's success has been those who have donated needed items and volunteered countless hours to help the camp function. When the Euroa basecamp needed more vehicles, they were provided; when the call was made for tents, camper trailers, whitegoods and even home-baked treats, the people of Euroa and beyond answered the call. A different cry now goes out, with the Federal Government conceding after media pressure on Sunday 16 August that pauses had been placed on 23 countries' working holiday visa applications. "Three-quarters of our team right now are backpackers," Debra said. "So this is going to impact us.” The BlazeAid stalwart is now urging locals to help make a difference in Canberra. "We want people to contact their local federal member of parliament and get them to support working holiday visas," she said. Any visit to the base camp makes it clear that international volunteers have been the backbone of BlazeAid's operation since the January bushfires, contributing thousands of hours to fencing and rebuilding projects on fire-affected properties. Debra said the skills, experience, and work ethic of overseas volunteers had allowed BlazeAid to maintain the scale of its operations. "For charities like us, we have only been able to survive because of the skills of those who come from overseas, with many of them becoming team leaders," she said. “At the moment, we are desperate for team leaders. "We may not be able to do what we do if the visas are not being processed." So far, BlazeAid has built 824km of fences and cleared 490km of fence line. It has hosted over 900 volunteers to address the 289 properties that have registered for help, with more expected to come forward. Debra said the issue extended well beyond BlazeAid, with regional communities across Australia benefiting from the contribution made by international volunteers. "The impact of reducing that volunteer pool could be felt right across rural Australia," she said. "We want all of the locals to get behind this."
