September 17, 2012
Welfare agencies in the South Burnett are in state of shock as the possible ramifications of last week’s State Budget start to sink in.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, industry insiders have told southburnett.com.au they are anxious the knife is being taken to programs that service some of the region’s most vulnerable residents.
And one of the biggest problems is uncertainty. Many are only relying on a media statement from the office of the Minister for Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services Tracy Davis, released last Wednesday, to assess whether programs will continue to be funded.
Some fear their jobs have disappeared, or the jobs of their colleagues in other services, but the biggest problem is they simply don’t know.
“The detail leaves a lot to be desired,” one manager said.
“The Department can’t answer any questions, but we all expect to have received letters by the end of the month spelling out what’s going to happen.”
Programs that appear to be affected include:
- Neighbourhood Centre funding – reduced by 10 per cent. This could hit programs offered by Graham House in Murgon
- Community Development program funding appears to have been axed. This could affect services offered at Centacare South Burnett in Kingaroy
- Youth at Risk programs – a 10 per cent cut may affect programs offered at Cherbourg, Murgon and Kingaroy.
- Youth Support Co-Ordinators program scrapped – this program has been lauded locally as a great success in keeping “at risk” children at school. “My heart bleeds that it’s gone,” one worker said. “It does such a good job and it’s such basic stuff, such as providing uniforms to keep them in school.”
- Emergency Relief funding – scrapped. Agencies will have to rely solely on Federal Government support but there is no expectation that more money will be made available to make up for the shortfall caused by the State Government.
- Alcohol diversionary services – funding won’t be renewed. This is expected to affect programs offered by South Burnett CTC in Murgon and Cherbourg.
Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington said much of the speculation was premature.
“There are cuts across the board, across all industries and across all Departments,” she said. “There was no choice but to do it for the fiscal repair program. We need to get back the AAA rating.”
However it wasn’t at all clear that some of the programs named would be affected.
A local welfare worker feared any cuts could be disastrous.
“The cuts could spell disaster for many staff and programs but we are desperately trying to get the facts first,” one manager said.
A second insider said they had “no idea” what was going to happen. “All we know is what we’ve read in the press release.”
A third was more blunt: “It’s going to mean jobs (lost) and reduced services.”
A reduction in money for Child Safety programs has also been tipped which could affect CTC, Lifeline and Graham House.
“The language is bizarre. The State Government is talking about ‘an efficiency dividend’ when they actually mean funding cuts,” one worker said.
“They seem to be making it up as they go … they’re all young inexperienced ‘suits’ who are not living in the real world.”
One program manager said a real concern was what would happen in 18 months or two years when the State Government realised the services were necessary as the Wide Bay Burnett area had the lowest socio-economic demographic in Queensland.
“Qualified staff will have left the area. We will have to advertise and we will end up with graduates straight out of university who need supervision because it’s their first job, and people who have no knowledge of the local area.”
The economic affects were also a concern.
“There’s all that income not being spent locally but these are also the people who man the sporting clubs, the art groups. They’re the volunteers. The impact is going to be quite deep.”
A program manager said the people most affected would be the clients, who can’t leave the area if services dry up.
“There will be an increased workload on all the other agencies if a service disappears, and they’ll have to do it with reduced funding or it just doesn’t happen.”
Another manager said it was a great pity because the South Burnett networks were working well together and achieving.
“I could just cry telling staff their jobs may be gone.”
South Burnett CTC and Centacare South Burnett refused to comment on the Budget. Graham House could not be reached for a comment.
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The Budget also appears to have hit other local workers.
There are rumours of possible job losses, although probably through natural attrition, at Kingaroy Hospital and the loss of support staff for ambulance officers.
Local rural firefighters are also concerned about mooted changes. They have joined a statewide “yellow ribbon” campaign against proposed changes to the Rural Fire Service.
The former Department of Primary Industries has also been affected with at least four jobs disappearing in Kingaroy.
One of these is the Farm Financial Counselling service which assists farmers with Queensland Rural Adjustment Authority applications and represents farmers in bank mediations.
“This is a vital service, when it goes it will lead to more farm foreclosures,” a support worker said.
Another project that appears to have been axed is cutting-edge research into remote sensing technology which assists farmers to make crop management decisions.
Support for aquaculture is also believed to have gone as has a support role for indigenous employment trainees.
Also axed is the SES Cadet Scheme. The Kingaroy Emergency Service Cadets were established in 1995 and the demise of the program is already being mourned by former members.
“I was involved with the Emergency Services Cadet program for a number of years, and it was the best time of my life. I learnt so many skills and so much about myself via this program, that it’s just ridiculous to see it shut down,” one wrote on Facebook.
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On the bright side, a campaign to save the local RHealth office in Kingaroy is believed to have succeeded although confirmation from the State Government was not available.
