Federal Member for Macquarie Louise Markus has declined to defend her government’s decision to cut funding to early childhood support programs in the Blue Mountains.
Funding for successful parenting groups and playgroups — including the only multicultural playgroup in the Blue Mountains — will run out on February 28 following a decision by the federal government to no longer support the services.
Mrs Markus said she was disappointed at the decision but would continue discussions “towards a better outcome”.
“As a former social worker with some 25 years industry experience it was disappointing news. I want to see the people in the electorate of Macquarie continue to receive high quality and compassionate services and ensure people’s needs are met,” she said.
Gateway Family Services based in Blaxland was shocked to find out on December 23 last year it had been unsuccessful in applying for funding to continue its long-running early childhood programs.
Service manager Kerry Thomas said the programs helped hundreds of families each year.
“No evaluation of the efficacy and effectiveness of the existing funded services or analysis of the impact of removing these programs from the existing service system was undertaken,” she said
Along with the loss of parenting groups and playgroups, the decision means Gateway will no longer provide a pioneering “It takes a village” project which supported, mentored and trained early childhood workers to support families and link them to services.
“We would be among the top services in our community to do that work [early childhood support]. We are well respected, we are well-known and we deliver. There was no reason to suspect we wouldn’t keep going and doing that,” said Ms Thomas.
Blue Mountains Family Support Service based in Katoomba has also been hit by the funding cuts, forced to axe its emergency relief program.
Service manager Angelique Sasagi said the community would suffer from the loss of the service which has been supporting local families for 15 years.
Labor spokesperson for Macquarie Susan Templeman condemned the government cuts to the two local groups.
“The providers who have delivered the services — Gateway and the Blue Mountains Family Support Service — have an intimate understanding of the Mountains and how to most efficiently and effectively provide support,” she said.
“They have developed an integrated approach where if you take one thing away, you are undermining some of the other arms of the program.
“And let’s be clear, the cuts to funding don’t just mean the loss of crucial services, but the loss of local jobs.”
The local cuts come after the federal government announced last year it was cutting $271 million from the Department of Social Services (DSS) Discretionary Grants Program over the next four years.
Labor’s communities spokesperson, Senator Claire Moore, has called on the government to reverse the cuts.
“These cuts will hurt the homeless, people with disability, victims of abuse and a range of other vulnerable people. It will also mean hundreds of jobs are likely to be lost across the community sector,” she said.
Louise Markus said she has spoken directly to new social services minister Scott Morrison “to strongly advocate on behalf of the organisations and the people they serve in the electorate who have been impacted by this recent announcement regarding the DSS grant program”.
“I will be continuing discussions towards a better outcome,” she said.
