Tag: budget

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Budget measures welcome but more can be done

Posted on | by Vikki Hine

MEDIA RELEASE   

15 May 2024

SydWest welcomes several measures announced in last night’s Federal Budget that provide assistance across settlement, aged care, the NDIS and cost of living.

Acting CEO Clement Meru said SydWest supports the extension of the Youth Transition Support Scheme which helps young refugees and migrants transition smoothly from education to work.

‘We are also pleased with the extension, through the Settlement and Transition Support (SETS) Program, of support for refugee and migrant women experiencing violence in the home, particularly considering Blacktown’s high rates of domestic violence,’ said Mr Meru.

‘It is critical that women and children from new and emerging communities who flee violent relationships can continue accessing culturally responsive support.

‘In relation to aged care, we welcome the Federal Government’s $531.4 million investment in 24,100 additional home care packages, however we agree with calls from the Aged and Community Care Providers Association that more funds are needed to support our ageing population.

‘We mustn’t forget that seniors from culturally diverse backgrounds may have more complex needs as cultural and language factors come into play.’

SydWest said the announcement of $468.7 over five years to support people with disability and to get the NDIS back on track was also good news.

‘Much has been said about more needing to be done for cost-of-living relief, and that is true – our community is really doing it tough,’ Mr Meru said.

‘However, the $300 rebate on electricity bills and additional rent assistance will provide some relief for the families and individuals we support.’

SydWest is a leading organisation for cultural diversity issues responding to community needs and opportunities throughout Greater Western Sydney and more recently parts of the Inner West and City of Sydney.  Participate Australia runs SydWest’s disability services.

STATEMENT ENDS/

Media enquiries: Vikki Hine, Media and Events. E: vikki.hine@sydwestms.org.au or T: 0428 109 215 or Cindy Sciberras on 0412 897 286.

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Budget initiatives for western Sydney & CALD communities welcomed, but more help needed to address regional concerns

Posted on | by Sydwest

SydWest Multicultural Services has welcomed the NSW Government 2023-2024 Budget, with its strong focus on western Sydney, and measures that bolster diversity and address cost of living concerns.

CEO Elfa Moraitakis said the organisation was pleased to see an allocation of funds for increased affordable and social housing, expanded temporary accommodation to combat rising homelessness and a rental reform package aimed at safeguarding renters from unjust evictions.

‘We support the allocation of $39 million to prevent domestic, family and sexual violence and to support victim safety,’ Ms Moraitakis said.

“We particularly applaud the establishment of a specialist multicultural domestic and family violence centre for south-western Sydney, which recognises that women from different cultural backgrounds face significant barriers accessing mainstream services.

“However, we hope the model can be quickly expanded to other parts of western Sydney including the Blacktown local government area, which has some of the highest rates of domestic violence in NSW.”

Ms Moraitakis said additional money for the NDIS scheme would be welcomed by many of the organisation’s clients throughout western Sydney and the inner west, and that

bill relief measures through programs including the Family Energy Rebate and the Low-Income Household Rebate would be appreciated by local families.

‘We believe an awareness campaign in other languages would help CALD communities better access all of current rebates provided by government and we would be happy to collaborate with government on this to help ensure everyone who is eligible has access.”

The creation of a Multicultural Youth Network to advise government about matters affecting young people from CALD backgrounds was an excellent idea, Ms Moraitakis said, with SydWest ready and willing to nominate outstanding local youth to the role.

“While there is always more to be done, we look forward to working with the Minns government to support people to live a better life in western Sydney and other parts of Sydney that we serve.”

Download the media release here.

For media enquiries, please contact Cindy Sciberras | 0412 897 286

21 September 2023