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Written by Office of the Minister for Home Affairs
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Friday, 04 September 2009 |
Auburn, New South Wales, Friday 4 September 2009, 12.30pm First, may I acknowledge the traditional owners of the land we meet on – and pay my respects to their elders, both past and present.
My Parliamentary colleague Laurie Ferguson who is the Parliamentary Secretary For Multicultural Affairs And Settlement Services and the local member here in the electorate of Reid
Patricia Frost, CEO, Inner West Skills Centre
Ladies and gentlemen
Good morning everyone and thank you for your welcome.
It’s a great pleasure to be here, I’d like to thank Patricia Frost, the Centre’s CEO for 20 years, and her team for hosting this event at short notice.
I’m here today to not only see the fantastic work you do here but to also say a few words about the Government’s Proceeds of Crime program which I am proud to announce will be funding the centre’s project The School of Opportunity.
This is a great project which will give support to young men and women in the Inner West who are at risk of following a crime pathway to set them on the right track.
The Centre is known for its tremendous contribution to employment, training, welfare and youth services across the Inner West over the past two decades.
It’s also known for the great work it does helping the long term unemployed and the disadvantaged who live within this culturally diverse community. It’s a complex task that demands a strong sense of purpose and dedication.
Clearly those are qualities that made the Centre a leader in providing a range of professional training and recruitment services over three diverse sites: at Auburn, Darlinghurst and Burwood.
It is because of these merits that in 2007 the Australian Government made a grant of $90,000 to the Centre for a pilot project using education and developing career pathways to reduce crime.
I’m pleased to say that those who took part in this pilot project have had a lower rate of offending and re-offending behaviour.
I understand Patricia that the new School of Opportunity program is the natural progression from that earlier pilot project.
By way of background, the Proceeds of Crime Act provides a scheme to trace, restrain and confiscate the proceeds of crime.
It means we’re able to put money back into the community to help with crime prevention, law enforcement, and illegal drugs diversion and treatment.
It’s widely known that low educational attainment, low self-esteem, and unemployment are reliable predictors of future engagement with the criminal justice system.
So I am impressed by the creative approaches that various community groups proposed for their local circumstances to help reduce crime.
The best thing about community projects like The School of Opportunity is that they are run by local organisations which know the needs of their communities, and have come up with innovative ways to direct help where it’s most needed.
For its part, the Government is always keen to work with local groups and we recognise that local solutions are generally the best way to deal with local issues.
The Inner West Skills Centre has proven itself as a very effective grassroots organisation.As an employment service provider they have a track record of helping young people get work.
I am delighted to announce that we are investing $318,000 in the Inner West Skills Centre to provide their holistic service for young people at risk of criminal behaviour and offer these kids help with education, vocational goals and life skills.
This is a fantastic project and I am very pleased the School of Opportunity will be expanded and supported by the Rudd Government.
In the coming weeks I will be making further announcements about recipients of funding in other communities under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Congratulations Patricia on the very good work being done by your organisation to help improve the employment prospects of some of the community’s most marginalised young people.
And let me also commend the families and employers who are get behind these sorts of initiatives, helping those who need some assistance to enter the workforce.
In any worthwhile undertaking, partnerships are essential, and very much underpin the Government’s goal of social inclusion.
I know that the Inner West Skills Centre has a vision to build strong people, strong families and strong communities.
It’s a vision that the Government shares.
I look forward to hearing about the successes that flow from the School of Opportunity program, and on behalf of the Government, I wish you well in all your endeavours.
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