Hon Annette King
Social Development spokesperson

20 May 2009 Media Statement

Community and voluntary sector funding gutted

The Government appears to be stripping the community and voluntary sector of over $320 million in guaranteed funding over the next three years, says Labour’s Social Development spokesperson Annette King.

“Today’s announcement by Social Development Minister Paula Bennett will throw the community and voluntary sector into chaos and will force agencies working at the front line to get out their begging bowls.

“Paula Bennett today finally confirmed that the previous Labour-led Government’s commitment to fully-fund the sector by 2011, with a $461 million cash injection, was under review. The Minister also made it clear she would not support full-funding for the sector,” says Annette King.

“The Minister has instead offered a one-off $40 million a year cash injection for this year, and probably next year - and made it clear there is no guarantee of any additional funding whatsoever after that.

“Labour last year put an extra $52 million into baseline spending for the sector and promised to increase that baseline spending each year until 2011 by which time total baseline spending would have jumped from the current $255 million to $395 million.

“What Paula Bennett has told the sector today is that it will get a one-off $40 million, or maybe $80 million, injection – instead of any permanent increase to baseline spending, “ Annette King says.

“That means they are $320 million down in the next three years alone if $80 million goes in, or $360 million down if it’s only $40 million for one year.

“It’s not even clear from today’s announcement whether the Government is sticking with last year’s $52 million baseline increase – or whether it has canned that as well, in which case the situation is even worse.

“This is appalling news. There are 850 community agencies out there working to provide essential services for families, children and young people.

These agencies are often better placed to provide practical support for families, but they need decent funding and funding certainty to enable them to plan ahead, attract quality staff and improve service effectiveness. They are under-resourced.

“Compounding the foolishness is the Minister’s plan to establish a new layer of bureaucracy with a raft of new committees to consider applications for the temporary funding.”

ENDS

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