SENATOR JENNY MCALLISTER

SHADOW ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR FAMILIES AND COMMUNITIES

SENATOR FOR NEW SOUTH WALES

JULIAN HILL MP

MEMBER FOR BRUCE

GRINCH FLETCHER’S FUNDING CHAOS CONTINUES TO HURT AT CHRISTMAS

Despite being the season for love and giving the disastrous rollout of Financial Capability and Wellbeing grants continues to cause chaos for at risk communities.

Service providers have today called on the Government to reverse cuts that will leave vulnerable Australians in South East Melbourne without financial counselling services in the lead up to Christmas.

Over the last month Minister Fletcher has backflipped on a number of funding decisions as it became clear that he had completely bungled the process. It was only after public backlash that the Minister provided 12 month extensions to existing providers who had their funding cut.

Today it has become clear that financial counsellors in Dandenong and Narre Warren will not have access to the funding extension causing job losses and leaving clients in hardship with nowhere to turn right at the end of the year.

It is only weeks until Christmas and the Minister is still yet to clean up the mess in social services.

The Greater Dandenong is the officially the most disadvantaged area in Melbourne and financial counsellors offer an incredibly important service to people dealing with financial hardship.

The funding rollout for Financial Capability and Wellbeing grants has been a disaster of the Government’s own making.

This process should have caused minimum disruption for the sector and instead has caused immense stress for staff and their clients. 

Labor is calling on the Minister to come clean on these cuts and ensure that services won’t be disrupted at Christmas.

The chaos surrounding social services needs to stop.

COMMENT FROM JULIAN HILL, LABOR MEMBER FOR BRUCE

“It’s frankly unbelievable that this miserable government would make cuts to the Salvation Army in Dandenong right before Christmas.”

TIMELINE OF THE BUNGLED GRANTS PROCESS

• 12^th November: The Government back flipped on their cruel cuts to Foodbank.
• 14^th November: 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.
• 17^th November: 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.
• 18^th November: 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. 
• 27th November: it was reported that the Minister would extend arrangements to organisations who recently had their funding cut for financial counselling grants from three to twelve months.
• Today, service providers have called on the Government to reverse cuts that will leave vulnerable Australians in South East Melbourne without financial counselling services.

FRIDAY, 7 DECEMBER 2018

MEDIA CONTACT: NATHAN ROBERTSON 0436 632 388