Anne Tolley MP
National’s Associate Welfare (CYF) Spokeswoman

23 November 2006

Group says violence cheque an ‘insult’

A community group on the East Coast is branding its $500 share of the Government’s family violence initiatives as an ‘insult’ to its staff, says National Party Associate Welfare (CYF) spokeswoman Anne Tolley.

“I’m sure agencies all over the country would feel the same as Presbyterian Support.”

The organisation has written to CYF and returned its cheque. It describes the over-hyped family violence allocation as ‘a small drop in an almost empty bucket’, ‘inadequate’, ‘ludicrous’ and says it demonstrates a ‘lack of understanding of the community by government and MSD’.

The letter reads: ‘Our organisation, for example, is offered an extra $500 for the year which is really an insult to our staff and most probably less than all the costs involved with this ludicrous decision and the following paper trail’.

It goes on to say,’ our message is not to dilute the funding, but to choose reliable and quality organisations to work with.’

Mrs Tolley says the CYF funding for family violence was a “piecemeal contribution to an epidemic of domestic abuse and violence against the most vulnerable members in our community”.

“Labour has tried to spread its contribution so thin that it is doomed to be ineffective. It has sprayed taxpayer money around with hundreds of groups in a feel good exercise which appears unlikely to get results.

“National is urging Labour to better target the scarce taxpayer dollars that are available for family violence,” says Mrs Tolley.

ENDS

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