Media Release by The Hon Mal Brough MP

Budget delivers further assistance in Kingston

Families and Community Services Minister, Mal Brough, and Member for Kingston Kym Richardson today announced further assistance for community groups and parents in Adelaide’s southern suburbs.

Southern Junction Community Services and the Centacare Catholic Family Services partnership will each receive $420,000 over three years to provide two programs under the Howard Government’s $142 million Communities for Children initiative.

“Southern Junction Community Services will deliver the Linking Families and Services program which connects high risk families to playgroups and kindergartens and other community services,” said Mr Brough.

“Centacare Catholic Family Services in partnership with Hackham West Community Centre, Christie Downs Community House and Woodcroft/Morphett Vale Community Centre will form a partnership to deliver Play and Learn Groups which aims to increase the capacity and support of playgroups by engaging child health and youth services in a playgroups setting.”

Mr Brough and Mr Richardson also announced a further 13 before school care and 20 new after school care places at Christies Beach Primary School, which will deliver further flexibility for families in the area.

“The recent Budget announcement to uncap Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) and Family Day Care (FDC) places will give services in the Kingston electorate the opportunity to build on the 5,193 existing OSHC and FDC places, providing more access to child care for families in their community,” Mr Brough.

“The uncapping of OSHC and FDC places, from 1 July this year, will mean some of the 71 existing OSHC and FDC services in Kingston are now free to expand, new services can be created and both can offer Child Care Benefit places, as long as they meet certain criteria.”

In Kingston, around 30 places were applied for in the recent OSHC allocation round. These places will now be available from 1 July 2006, providing the child care services meet relevant criteria, such as being fit and proper to provide child care.

“It’s not only families and children who are collecting the benefits of the latest Budget, in a landmark $173.3 million announcement the Howard Government has improved the treatment of rural land under the pension assets test,” Mr Brough said.

“From January 2007 people of Age Pension age who have been living on rural property for 20 years may have all land on the same title as the family home excluded from the assets test applied to Age Pensions and Carer payments.

“This exemption will allow eligible pensioners to receive a higher rate of pension and improve their living standards while remaining in their family home,” Mr Brough said.