Media Release: Funding Chaos Needs To End
1.00pm | November 19, 2018
SENATOR JENNY MCALLISTER
SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES
SENATOR FOR NEW SOUTH WALES
FUNDING CHAOS NEEDS TO END
The Government has bungled the rollout of yet another of its Financial Capability and Wellbeing grant decisions.
Reports today that Minister Fletcher has extended existing Financial Counselling grants for an additional three months to organisations who recently had their funding cut add to a week of chaos.
This time, Mr Fletcher had no intention of announcing this to the public and instead tried to hide it on the DSS website in the dead of night.
Mr Fletcher is clearly out of his depth and has spent the last seven days plugging holes of his own making.
This is the fourth funding backflip by the Government this week.
The rollout of this grant program has been a disaster.
On Monday the Government back flipped on their cruel cuts to Foodbank.
On Wednesday the Government back flipped on their decision to cut funding to organisations in NSW and Victoria who run the National Debt helpline by extending their funding arrangements for 12 months.
On Saturday, the Minister back flipped on the roll out of their emergency relief grants across the country by extending grants arrangements to organisations that were recently notified of a cut to funding.
Today, it was reported that there has been a further backflip to financial counselling grants by extending arrangements by three months to organisations that had recently had their funding cut.
This is a Government in crisis. The Minister is unable or unwilling to provide clarity to the sector about how services will continue to be delivered and who will be delivering them.
The funding chaos has come just before Christmas and has caused immense stress to organisations providing front line services to some of our most vulnerable people.
Labor is calling on the Minister to come clean on whether there are more problems with the rollout of these grants.
The chaos surrounding social services needs to stop.
SUNDAY, 18 NOVEMBER 2018
MEDIA CONTACT: NATHAN ROBERTSON 0436 632 388