Media Release
30.10.14
Restoration of Women’s Refuges Funding for Inner City Welcome, But Western Sydney, Regional Women Miss Out
Greens NSW MP and Spokesperson for the Status of Women, Dr Mehreen Faruqi MLC, has responded to reports that some inner city women’s refuges will have funding restored as welcome but called on the Government to restore funding to refuges across the State, including to refuges that have closed in regional NSW and others under threat.
Dr Faruqi said:
“Whilst the restoration of funding for some inner city services is welcome, the Minister’s announcement does not go far enough. There are still many regional NSW and other providers that have or will be shutting down services as a result of a harsh and uninformed policy.
“It is only because of the hard work of women activists that the Government has been forced to changed their decision and this activism will continue until the entire program is overhauled.
“We know that regional NSW has some of the highest rates of domestic violence, but because of these short-sighted reforms, providers such as Kempsey Women’s Refuge, who have long supported Indigenous women and their children, have been forced to close and hand over the keys to a large generalist provider.
“Tomorrow, Blue Gum Housing in Katoomba will close its doors after thirty years. The Government has pushed ahead with its Going Home Staying Home model at the expense of vulnerable women and children.
“There needs to be a complete rollback of the Going Home Staying Home program, which has been marked by a lack of transparency and the silencing of those affected.
“Rather than making specialist and feminist women’s only services jump administrative hoops, the Government should learn a lesson from this bungled and chaotic process, go back to the drawing board and reallocate funding to women’s only refuges who have lost their funding.