· YouthLinx funding to cease in January 2010 which will close down local youth service programs across Tasmania
· New COAG Youth Connections program to be regional, with one to one case management, but will not fund local youth activity service provision as works in Tasmania currently
· Liberals urge the Premier and Federal Minister for Education to reveal what alternative funding options for the delivery of vital local youth service programs are envisaged
From January 2010 the funding provided by the federal government through the YouthLinx program will cease, potentially leaving a large funding shortfall for youth service delivery across Tasmania.
David Bartlett and other Premiers through COAG have agreed that the YouthLinx funding will be redirected to the National Partnership on Youth Attainment and Transitions programs, however this program does not allow for the same focus on service provision that YouthLinx currently does.
The loss of this funding will be felt around the state. From George Town to Launceston, Huonville and Bridgewater, YouthLinx has played a central role in the delivery of locally delivered services for young people and ultimately has great benefits for the entire community, including getting kids back to school.
Through YouthLinx the Bridgewater PCYC have been able to provide social services for at-risk youth and their families and also a liaison role whereby youth and families can receive support, information and referrals. It is also the only youth focused service provider in the area.
You only need to look at the attendance levels at Bridgewater High School to realise how important the provision of social service and support for young people is. Bridgewater High has the lowest attendance rate of any school in Tasmania with only 71% of students attending.
Similarly at Rocherlea, the youth service has been successful in connecting young people in the area, enabling them to access sport and other programs that they would otherwise miss, including encouraging them to go to school and take up training.
Social infrastructure and service focused programs run at the community level are a fundamentally important way to help keep students in school and encourage those that have left to return.
Whilst the National Partnership Program has a new Youth Connections Program which is supposed to provide a safety net for young people at risk, there are concerns that it will not fund service provision. Instead it will provide “a combination of case managed support as well as linkages with wider community activities…”, but not the youth activities at a local level, nor is there any confidence that the service will be locally available, as the new service is to be tendered to one provider per region.
Evidence on the ground is that unless a youth service is driven by the local youth themselves with people they know and trust, young people will not participate and get the benefit from the service.
I am calling on the Premier and Federal Minister for Education to examine alternative funding options to ensure local youth service activities as have been provided through YouthLinx can be maintained beyond January 2010. Presumably they had something in mind when they made the decision to shut this funding down to local communities.
Sue Napier MP Shadow Minister for Education
