A campaign against proposed government funding cuts to community centres in South Australia has been successful in reversing the decision. The South Australian Government will restore funding to $9 million to be shared among about 100 community centres across SA.
The ‘Don’t go breaking our heart’ campaign, led by Community Centres SA was the culmination of years of lobbying the Government for operational funding across the whole sector.
Gill McFadyen from Community Centres SA says without the money community services across the state would have been reduced.
“I think it is just so meaningful for the 100 centres that we’ve got from Port Lincoln through to Renmark, Mount Gambier and everything in between it makes us really feel that the centres have been listened to and that the local communities have had a voice,” she said.
Community Centres SA together with the South Australian Council of Social Services (SACOSS), Child and Family Welfare Association (CAFWA) and Youth Affairs Council (YACSA) asked Minister Rankine to overturn the decision to cut the funding.
SA Treasurer Jack Snelling says the $2 million boost will not affect the budget.
“We had to make cuts in some areas and so what we’ve been able to do though is have a look and see what areas to reprioritise, see whether there’s some other areas where we might be able to identify some savings instead of [taking from] something which is absolutely vital,” he said.