UnitingCare Wesley Adelaide

Ref:10/2003

14 May, 2003

Budget Misses Welfare Priorities

“The Commonwealth budget released tonight is content with finessing with budget lines, rather than tackling priority issues of national well being” said Mark Henley, Manager of Advocacy and Communication.

For Adelaide Central Mission there are four areas of major budget failure:

Funds continue to be whittled away from the Commonwealth – State Housing Agreement, leaving ever fewer new houses being constructed for low income households, for example by the SA Housing Trust.

The increased allocation to public hospitals is inadequate.  Our estimates suggest that the actual allocation will be less than $20 Million per year for South Australian hospitals, a fraction of what is needed for public hospitals to meet demand.

We have been promised “welfare reform”, but the budget simply delivers more hardship for benefit recipients who are increasingly excluded from our community

South Australia has the longest duration of unemployment of any mainland State, yet the budget fails to fund measures to assist these people to develop  skills and fails to get serious about jobs growth.

“At a time when many aspects of the economy are doing well, it is very disappointing that disadvantaged people are being further excluded from our society” said Mr Henley.

Adelaide Central Mission has identified increased funding to Home and Community Care and Community Aged care packages as positives in the budget statement.

From Adelaide Central Mission’s 5 areas to watch, only this area delivers good news for low income and disadvantaged people.

 

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