ALTONA MP Jill Hennessy will question Parliament this week about the state government’s decision to slash funding to Hobsons Bay’s Youth Voice program.
The funding, allocated to Youth Voice for the past decade, has been given to the Australian Vietnamese Women’s Association (AVWA) for youth activities in Hobsons Bay and Maribyrnong. “While I commend the work done by the
AVWA, that funding should clearly have been allocated from multicultural affairs and not youth affairs,” Ms Hennessy said.
“The community can’t afford to lose programs like this. I call on the government to reinstate this critical funding.”
The Youth Voice program, which last year received about $38,000 from the government, provides opportunities for people aged 12-25 from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
Hobsons Bay councillor Luba Grigorovitch, who chairs the Youth Voice committee, said the loss of funds was a loss for the community.
Youth Affairs Minister Ryan Smith’s spokeswoman Lauren Bradley said it was unfortunate Hobsons Bay’s youth missed out. “The Engage! program proved very popular with 326 organisations applying for 102 grants.
