By John Van Klaveren
Federal budget cuts will worsen the precarious situations facing many local families, according to welfare agencies.
Uniting Care Geelong chief Trevor Schenk said many local agencies were “holding their breath” to judge the ongoing impact.
“The losses to people who can least afford it and disadvantaged communities puts the pressure on us to be resourced enough to meet that need,” Mr Schenk said.
“We’re already pushed fairly hard even though so far we’ve been able to find ways of meeting current needs.
“But if needs increase and funding decreases it could be a really big challenge.
“The burden of this budget falls overwhelmingly on families, pensioners and young people.”
The budget also cut 16,500 public service jobs, with the tax office and CSIRO, both of which have offices in Geelong, bearing the brunt.
Federal Member for Corangamite Sarah Henderson said most of the job cuts would be confined to Canberra.
The region would instead receive a “major boost” from a range of skills, training and education measures, she said.
“These measures are all about making it easier to find work, as well as preparing us for the jobs of the future.”
Ms Henderson pointed to multi-million dollar funds established in response to the car manufacturing collapse and Alcoa’s impending Point Henry closure.
She said a $484.2 million Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Program would bring research and business together to develop and commercialise home-grown ideas.
“A $476 million Industry Skills Fund will put a new focus on delivering the skills being sought by employers, to bridge the gap between training and employment. The Trade Support Loans scheme will offer loans of up to $20,000 over the life of an apprenticeship.”
The Australian Local Government Association said councils also suffered in the budget, which froze indexation of a key grant for three years.
The loss of increases in Financial Assistance Grants meant Australian councils would lose $925 million, the associaiton said.
