rat, Stawell and Mary

borough have pre

sented a petition to

State Parliament call

ing for the return of

Red Cross blood collec

tion banks in their

communities.

Ripon MLA Joe

Helper tabled the pet

ition, which expressed

the anger felt by local

communities affected

by the decision of the

Australian Red Cross

Blood Service to close

15 blood collection

banks across the state.

Mr Helper said the

petition served as a

"powerful reminder"

that communities

would not stand idly

while blood donation

services were with

drawn.

"With the tabling of

this petition in State

Parliament, the mess

age could not be

clearer to the ARCBS:

restore these services

and allow these com

munities to continue

their long standing

tradition of donating

blood," Mr Helper said.

The petition in

cluded 1811 signatures

and a letter signed by

Mr Helper and the

mayors of Ararat Ru

ral City, Northern

Grampians Shire and

Central Goldfields

Shire was also sent to

Australian Red Cross

urging it to reconsider

its decision.

"It would be an absol

ute tragedy if this

short-sighted decision

of the ARCBS were to

tarnish the good name

of the Australian Red

Cross," Mr Helper said.

"It has been the con

tributions of gener

ously spirited people

over many decades

that has made the Red

Cross the organisation

that it is today. That is

a reality that should

not be forgotten by the

board of the Red Cross

when considering their

response."