Hutt Street Centre, Catherine House hit by $2.4m funding cut
The Hutt Street Centre and Catherine House have had $2.4m cut from their budgets in a State Government shake-up for homelessness services.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The State Government has cut $2.4m from two of the city’s key homeless providers in a major shake-up for homelessness services in South Australia.
The Hutt St Centre and Catherine House, the only centre for single homeless women, have lost $1.2m each.
The centres lost out to a rival consortia backed by the Lutheran Church in an announcement made today and touted by Human Services Minister Michelle Lensink as the “the biggest shake-up of homelessness services in more than a decade”.
The news has rocked the Hutt Street Centre, which said it would result in as yet undisclosed job losses. Catherine House has a budget of $4m and is also likely to suffer job losses.
CEO Chris Burns said he was disappointed in the decision, “but we do wish all the best to the successful alliance”.
“This decision does not mean the end of Hutt St Centre, it is however, the cessation of a significant government-funded program,” he said.
Total annual revenue for The Hutt St Centre is $8.6m and staff expenses are more than $5.4m.
It opened a $2.2m upgrade in February.
There has been no overall cut in funding for homeless services.
The state government has allowed tenders for grouped homeless providers for the first time, creating “alliances” in Adelaide South, Adelaide North, Country South, Country North and for anti-domestic violence organisations.
Ms Lensink hailed the $70m in tenders as a way to achieve greater accountability in the welfare sector.
“We want better outcomes for our most vulnerable and today we draw a line in the sand to ensure we achieve that,” she said.
“We’re really excited to be spearheading an Australian-first Alliance approach that places a strong focus on early intervention to prevent South Australians from becoming homeless in the first place.”
In 2020-21, a total of $71.5 million is committed to specialised homelessness services, up from $67.9 million the previous year.
Opposition leader Peter Malinauskas criticised the decision.
“Why the government would choose this time to cut funding for the Hutt Street Centre beggars belief,’’ he said.
“How is it that the Marshall Liberal Government can find $700 million for a basketball stadium but can’t find money to support the Hutt Street Centre’s valuable work.”
Join the conversation
‘Better connectivity’: $40m fix set for frustrating intersection to CBD
‘Better connectivity’ and a 30 per cent reduction in delays for close to 50,000 drivers have been promised in the government’s bid to fix a troubled western Adelaide intersection.
Read more
‘So unsafe’: Is this SA’s worst housing block?
Black mould, syringes and decay. A apocalyptic looking housing block could be mistaken for a 1970s New York slum, but it is infact a 2025 South Australia ‘ghetto’. See the pictures here.
Read more