Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to highlight to the House the Abbott government's continued attack on South Australian communities, particularly their refusal to reverse their decision for the $270 million cuts to community services that are hitting right now in my electorate of Kingston as well as right around Australia. As a result many community services, including family and parenting support, emergency relief, financial counselling services and settlement services, will be axed on 30 June this year. This decision is sending shock waves through the communities I represent in the southern suburbs of Adelaide.

The Abbott government and the minister have ignored pleas from local families to save many of these programs, including the Family Work Project. This decision will leave hundreds of families in my local area without vital support. The Family Work Project is run by the Hackham West Community Centre. This program provides essential support to families, helping to reduce social isolation, form friendships and develop support networks. These families will have nowhere to go as a result of this government's cruel cuts to community services.

I visited the centre and spoke to many of the families who have benefited from the Family Work Project. They told me that this program has been so important to them. It has helped them to connect with their community. Many of them said it has helped improve their relationship with their family. These people were extremely upset that the government was axing this program that has provided support for so many years. This program in different funding models has been getting support for many years and this government has for the first time axed this support. In March I wrote to the minister calling on him to reverse his decision and to continue the funding, but I have not had a response yet. Minister, please respond—if not to me, then to these families.

Unfortunately, this is not the only cut that will impact our community. I have spoken many times before in this place about financial counselling services. These are so important in helping those who find themselves in financial difficulty to get out of debt and to manage their money properly. This support has been axed by this government. It is a very unfair and cruel cut that will have long-term consequences for so many in my electorate.

The Christian Care and Support Centre in Aldinga, which has been funded for 20 years by the federal government to provide relief support, has also had its funding axed. It is the only group that provides this type of support in Aldinga for families who find themselves in emergency situations and need some financial or other support. It has been providing this service for many years to vulnerable individuals and families. It has now found that its support has been cut. It is very disappointing.

These decisions need to be reversed. Of course many of these organisations found out their fate on Christmas Eve. They received a very uncharitable email saying that their funding will be cut. It is time for the new minister now to reverse these decisions that will really hit hard communities right around the country.

In the time I have left available I would also like to speak about the attack on our arts community. What we have seen from the arts minister in this budget is a savage cut to the independent Australia Council for the Arts. I think $104 million is being transferred to his own department, rather than having the independent scrutiny that comes with funding arts in this country. I have heard from many second-tier and smaller arts groups that, as a result of this cut, they will fold. Many of these arts companies have allowed artistic endeavour to foster and grow and ensure that we have the creative community that we do. With the minister being able to determine who gets funding and who does not, many of these arts companies that have been working for a long time in our community fostering that creativity will have to shut their doors.

This is a disgraceful decision. Many on the other side who have connections with their arts communities will reject this decision. They should speak to the minister about this. This is appalling. I ask him to reverse this decision. (Time expired)