Page 1900 - Week 05 - Thursday, 6 May 2010
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a frequent express service. Places like west Belconnen, Weston Creek and south Tuggeranong would benefit hugely from improved service and capacity of their public transport needs. We can and should learn the lessons of the Brisbane busways and Melbourne’s tram frequency improvements: that courageous government investment in expanding supply and service quality provides investment returns above and beyond any other transport investment choices. I am sure the government will see that this investment in public transport would be very worth while.
In the community sector it is not such a great story. Investing comprehensively in the community sector and the work they do continues to be a missed opportunity. Community service providers report that they have not received any substantial funding increases to maintain their work, let alone meet the increasing demands that are being placed upon them. The impact of making the dollar stretch further is that a growing number of people are being turned away and are not receiving the services that they need.
We are still awaiting an outcome from the award modernisation process. This is likely to rule for an increase in community sector wages and our expectation is that these increases will be funded by the government.
The Greens welcome the additional $2 million over four years for the prevention of violence against women and moves in this budget to improve funding of the Women’s Legal Centre, particularly the Indigenous liaison officer at the centre. Confirmation by the government that the ILO will be maintained, I am sure, would be most welcome. And the Indigenous liaison officer position at the Women’s Legal Centre as well as increased funding into prevention of violence against women were certainly things that my office lobbied the minister for during the budget process.
A considerable amount of effort went into the ACT young people’s plan. That was a 2009 to 2014 plan. This plan was launched in December 2009 but this has not been identified as a priority for the 2010-11 financial year, indicative again that the government is writing plans that are not being resourced or implemented. And it just takes us back to the point that there are a number of community organisations who quite clearly said yesterday in the ACTCOSS forum that they really were finding it very tough to be able to deliver their services; they are turning more and more people away from their doors. And we really do need to look at the situation. We do need to properly fund the full cost of that service delivery, because those services provide such value for money and provide such vital services to so many in our community.
But back to the young people: we have the plan but unfortunately no identified money at all in this budget. Community-based youth services continue to experience significant challenges with regard to workforce development, recruitment and retention of workers, while also facing increased demand for service provision. A strong, community-based youth service is vital to address emerging issues and provide targeted support to young people.
The Greens are pleased to see additional funding allocated to the operating costs of Bimberi to ensure staffing ratios are adequate and that the intended rehabilitation and training programs can be run from the centre.
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