Federal Member for Ballarat, Catherine King today called on the Turnbull Government to use tomorrow’s federal budget to commit to protecting critical volunteer management and support services. These groups have been put at risk through the Turnbull Government’s refusal to commit to funding under the Volunteer Management program.
This was confirmed in Senate Estimates earlier this year, and has thrown volunteer management services into uncertainty.
“I am highly concerned that Ballarat volunteer organisations will have less chance of accessing federal government funding under these changes”, Ms King said.
“Under the existing system volunteer groups had access to their own stream of funding, these changes however will mean that they have to compete against other organisations for scarce funding.
“Volunteer organisations provide vital support to our community. From community sporting groups, to volunteer welfare organisations and emergency services we all know how these volunteer organisations often form the backbone of our communities.
“It is disgraceful that the Turnbull government won’t commit to funding these groups into the future through their own dedicated stream
Ms King recently met with United Way in Ballarat to discuss how important the efforts of volunteers are to the local community.
“United Way is just one organisation that has been placed in danger of having its funding cut as a result of another poor decision from this Government”, Ms King said.
“The Turnbull Government must do the right thing on budget night and commit to giving volunteers the support they deserve as they tirelessly give up their time for all in our community.”
To find out more about Volunteering Australia’s campaign, go to www.volunteeringaustralia.org
May 8th 2017