Funding struggle burdens Loganlea Community Centre as state reveals plans to ‘streamline’ charities

A war over charity funding has broken out in the heart of one of the southeast’s poorest areas, after claims the Government is trying to “streamline’’ community centres.

There are six state-funded government centres near Loganlea Community Centre which has failed to get state government funding over the past year. Shadow Communities Minister John-Paul Langbroek (inset) said it was deliberately excluding the centre.

A war over charity funding has broken out in the heart of one of the southeast’s poorest areas as it grapples with flood relief.

Loganlea Community Centre said State Government “funding discrimination” was forcing it to close, despite its frontline role helping families who had suffered from the recent flood.

Centre management committee president Valerie Russell said all her requests to the government for funds over the past year were ignored as part of what she claimed was a deliberate plan to cull charity organisations in the area.

Loganlea Community Centre staff cooking food for flood victims.

There are six department-funded neighbourhood and community centres within 12km.

“It has come to the point where, as an organisation, we can no longer survive financially,” Ms Russell said.

“The heartbreaking impact of this will directly hit the tens of thousands of people who use our service each year.

“It is the vulnerable members of our community who will not be able to rely on Loganlea for services such as a hot shower or a hot meal when they’re experiencing homelessness, or young mothers who will not be able to seek food to feed young children until payday.

“It is beyond frustrating that we’ve raised this with all levels of government to ask for a funding commitment, but these requests have fallen on deaf ears.”

The centre, which operates programs and caters for 475 people each week, took issue after it was excluded from a one-off $20,000 handout made to 127 state-funded community centres in February.

Ms Russell said other community centres in the area which received state funding often referred people to the Loganlea centre, which got $18,000 from Logan City Council and $10,000 from federal MP Bert van Manen in the past year.

Hall hire, a major contributor to the centre’s revenue, dried up during Covid lockdowns and fundraising events were poorly attended as people tightened spending.

The Department of Communities said there were six department-funded neighbourhood and community centres in the area.

The Department said it had been trying to “streamline operations” of some centres to maximise financial investment and public value.

Flood victims and the homeless get dinner at the Loganlea Community Centre.

The Loganlea centre was ineligible for the $20,000 one-off windfall because it was not a state-funded centre, despite an email from Logan City Council alerting the centre to funding.

A department spokesman told Loganlea staff to contact Multilink, the government organisation contracted to service the area.

“Information was also provided to the centre about the State Government’s tender site, where all funding opportunities are advertised,” the department said.

Shadow Communities Minister John-Paul Langbroek slammed the “heartless treatment” of the community-based organisation, which had provided frontline flood relief services in February.

He accused the government of “picking on those they do not like” by refusing funding.

“The Department of Communities stressed to the Loganlea centre that the area was already well funded with Crestmead Community Centre and Kingston East Neighbourhood Group,” Mr Langbroek said.

“Those very centres were sending their clients to the Loganlea Community Centre even though they are funded and Loganlea is not.

“It looks like Labor, in their own area, pick on those they do not like and will not fund the

ones who are helping their own voters.”