Gai Brodtmann (Canberra, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the most successful aspects of Canberra's centenary celebrations was Parties at the Shops, celebrating Canberra's unique local shops culture. I am very pleased that Parties at the Shops has continued beyond the centenary year and is now an ongoing celebration. This weekend, the party will be at Hughes Shops, which turns 50, and I wish the Hughes residents the best of luck and I hope the rain stays away.

Last Saturday I attended the party at Narrabundah Shops, and I'd like to congratulate Austin Lynch and the Old Narrabundah Community Council for a successful event. The best thing about the Parties at the Shops is that they bring together the local community. While I was at Narrabundah, I spoke to staff from the Winnunga Health Service, an Aboriginal community-run health service based in Narrabundah, which services the Indigenous community for the whole of the ACT and much of south-east New South Wales.

Winnunga is primarily funded by the federal government, and I was very concerned to learn that its current three-year funding deal runs out at the end of this financial year, but it has not been provided with a new contract by the Abbott government. In fact, despite the best efforts of Julie Tongs and her team, Winnunga is yet to even begin the process of negotiating a new contract. As it currently stands, Winnunga's funding will run out in just three months, and there is no certainty that it will be replaced. This is simply not good enough and I call on the Abbott government to end the funding uncertainty for Winnunga as a matter of priority.