Amanda Camm criticises Labor’s domestic violence grant program

Mackay and Whitsunday service providers miss out in ‘oversubscribed’ grants program.

Opposition spokeswoman for child protection and domestic violence prevention Amanda Camm said Whitsunday and Mackay organisations missed out in the grants program. Picture: Tara Croser.

Whitsunday MP Amanda Camm is calling on the Queensland government to provide grants to Mackay and Whitsunday domestic violence support service providers, saying a recent funding program has “fallen short for local organisations”.

Ms Camm this week criticised the rollout of a $2.5 million state government funding package designed to respond to the challenges of COVID-19, claiming the Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence rejected funding applications from domestic violence service providers in the Mackay-Whitsunday region.

“This will severely limit the capacity of local providers to provide support services to those in need and cause devastating effects on our community,” Ms Camm said.

“I call on the Member for Mackay and the Palaszczuk Labor Government to fund this critical need and ensure an appropriate level of funding is provided to meet the demands of COVID-19,” she said.

Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Minister Shannon Fentiman responded to Ms Camm’s comments, saying the $2.5m ‘Responding to COVID-19’ grants program was “oversubscribed” and this showed “the real need for more COVID relief funding in this sector”.

“If Amanda Camm wants to see more DFV funding in the Mackay and Whitsunday region, then she should pick up the phone and call her Canberra friends and tell them to extend the Federal Government’s $25.6m COVID relief funding,” Ms Fentiman said.

“This will ensure Mackay and Whitsunday gets the vital money needed to continue the important work they do in keeping women safe, and holding perpetrators to account.”

Ms Fentiman said the Labor government invested more than $5m in domestic and family violence funding in the Whitsunday and Mackay region last year.

She said the money was directed to services such as the Whitsunday Domestic and Family Violence Counselling and Court Support Service; the Whitsunday Sexual Violence Service; and perpetrator programs such as one Uniting Care Community Mackay runs.

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“When the pandemic hit, the Palaszczuk Government responded immediately, providing more than $60,000 COVID funding to the region,” Ms Fentiman said.

“In partnership with the Federal Government, we secured over $25.6m COVID-19 relief funding for Queensland – a quarter of a million of that went to Mackay and Whitsunday region. This funding ends in June this year.”

The ‘Responding to COVID-19’ grants program received 110 applications.

The 23 successful applicants, announced last week included the North Queensland DFV Post-Crisis Support Program and the Remote Volunteer Legal Advice Service, based in Townsville.

Originally published as Amanda Camm criticises Labor’s domestic violence grant program