Julia Irwin (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

to move:

That this House:

(1)

notes:

(a)

that the South West Women’s Housing Inc in Liverpool NSW, along with other agencies across the country, have been doing an outstanding job in providing services for women and children at risk of homelessness under the Supported Accommodation Assistance Program (SAAP);

(b)

24,150 clients were supported in NSW under SAAP in 2004-2005; and

(c)

19,600 children and young people under the age of 24 sought assistance through SAAP and that nearly 5000 of those were aged between 0-4;

(2)

recognises:

(a)

that the need for SAAP services have been increasing over recent years;

(b)

the Federal Government’s own evaluation supported the need for a 15% increase in funding levels for NSW to “sustain service viability”; and

(c)

the Commonwealth funding component has remained static, apart from indexation, in the latest five year funding agreement; and

(3)

calls on the Government to:

(a)

urgently reassess the funding arrangement for SAAP services; and

(b)

provide growth funds to adequately meet increased demand for SAAP services.

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