The Nationals have committed $10 million to Victoria's Neighbourhood Houses if elected at November's state election, in a pledge that has been welcomed in principle by local community houses but criticised as far from adequate to address the sector's real funding crisis.
The commitment, announced ahead of the 28 November election, includes $4 million to improve the financial sustainability of existing houses and a $6 million Growth Fund to support new and expanding houses in Victoria's fastest-growing communities. It follows a Neighbourhood Houses Victoria Day of Action earlier this year, when hundreds of supporters rallied on the steps of parliament, and a parliamentary petition sponsored by local MP Melina Bath that attracted 5,658 signatures.
Bath said Neighbourhood Houses were at the heart of regional communities and had never been more important. "The cost of living crisis has led more regional Victorians to rely on their support, placing greater pressure on services and increasing their operating costs. Each week more than 185,000 Victorians access their services, many are in regional Victoria where access to support is the most limited."
But Rebecca Matthews from Foster's Manna Gum Community House said the announcement, while welcome, did not come close to meeting the sector's actual needs. "We welcome any funding increase for neighbourhood houses and appreciate that the Coalition has engaged with our campaign and has recognised that neighbourhood houses are experiencing funding pressures. However, it falls well short of what neighbourhood houses need to survive."
Matthews said the scale of the shortfall was significant. "Due to historical funding erosion, neighbourhood houses need an immediate 25 per cent increase just to meet current costs. That will increase to 37 per cent next October due to a Fair Work review of the Award. The Coalition announcement will result in an average increase of less than 2.5 per cent per neighbourhood house per year."
Greens candidate for Gippsland South, Zavier Evans, said the proposed funding wasn’t a solution to the long term financial sustainability of Victoria’s 400 neighbourhood houses. “NHVic has recently called for an emergency relief boost of $51m to stop houses from scaling back operational hours or cutting community programs due to unbudgeted, but very necessary staffing cost increases,” Evans said.
“Investing in them is investing in increasing human potential and wellbeing in our communities, and just like health and education, should be a top priority,” Evans noted. Cara Schultz
