House debates Questions without Notice
Community Services
Tanya Plibersek Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Services
3:03 pm
$4.7 million, just a couple of weeks ago, for frontline services like OzHarvest, like Foodbank, like Good360 and like Secondbite to make sure that they can help those who reach out, particularly as the holiday season approaches and as the dangerous weather season approaches—so $2 million extra for food relief—a 15 per cent funding boost for 70 emergency relief providers, particularly in regional and remote communities, because we know that the impact of high fuel costs is having a particular impact in regional and remote communities; and an additional $1.1 million to boost the National Debt Helpline. These are organisations that help Australians at some of the toughest moments of their lives. As UnitingCare said about this most recent funding boost, 'this funding means a single parent can put food on the table, a worker can access a fuel voucher to get to work, and a family in crisis can speak with a financial counsellor so they can keep a roof over their heads'. We will make sure that we keep providing practical local support where people need it most, including in remote First Nations communities as well, where my colleague the Minister for Indigenous Australians, through the Low-cost Essentials Subsidy Scheme, has made sure that 30 essential items, like milk, rice, tinned vegetables, canned fruit, toilet paper and nappies are more affordably available in all 225 remote stores around Australia where that program is now able to be accessed.
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