Page 2232 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 23 June 2010
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Noah’s Ark was funded by the commonwealth for two programs: providing support workers for children with a disability aged from birth to three years to participate in Noah’s Ark’s regular programs, plus an after-school care and holiday program for high school students with a disability.
Both the Shepherd Centre and Noah’s Ark were informed in 2007 and in 2008 and in 2009 that this commonwealth funding was supplementary and non-recurrent. They were advised to seek alternative sources of funding if they wished their programs to continue and to be sustainable. In accepting the funding, the Shepherd Centre and Noah’s Ark agreed that this was the basis of the funding.
The old commonwealth program, established by the Howard government, ceased at the end of the 2008-09 financial year. Funding to organisations finished at the end of the 2009 calendar year. That was the commonwealth’s decision. The commonwealth has moved away from delivering its support to education through a profusion of targeted programs. Instead, the commonwealth is funding states and territories for outcomes articulated in the quadrennial education agreement and the national partnerships for education—again a commonwealth funding decision.
Since the old commonwealth program ceased, the ACT government has worked closely with the Shepherd Centre and with Noah’s Ark to assist them in the transition to the new system. And this has included direct financial assistance to ensure that the organisations have the opportunity to apply for funding in the coming tender process. It has included many meetings and much direct advice.
The Shepherd Centre was informed in December 2009, and in a meeting in February this year, that the funding model would be changing in the coming financial year. My department provided the Shepherd Centre with $55,000 in transition assistance for the first six months of 2010 so that they would have the opportunity to identify further funding sources if they could.
Similarly, Noah’s Ark was informed in December 2009, and at a meeting in January 2010, that the funding model would be changing in the coming financial year. My department provided Noah’s Ark with $15,000 in transitional assistance to enable the after-school program to continue until 30 June this year.
Now, the Department of Education and Training is calling a tender for therapy services, and the Shepherd Centre and Noah’s Ark will be open to apply to provide services under this tender. Current grant recipients will be alerted by email on the first working day following the public advertisement of this tender process.
That is the background and context for this debate. In short, the commonwealth ceased funding the Shepherd Centre and Noah’s Ark. The ACT government stepped in to provide transitional assistance. A tender process is about to begin and the Shepherd Centre and Noah’s Ark will be able to apply.
So that is the background; but what about the future? In the context of the future, it would be nice to think that the Assembly would keep in mind the big picture. There is little benefit to the public from the Assembly debating funding of two
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