LETTER: Neighbourhood and community centres deserve certainty

DEAR News Of The Area,

IN mid-September, I had the opportunity to attend the Local Community Services Association (LCSA) NSW  Conference in Wollongong.

The LCSA represents 175 Neighbourhood and Community Centres in NSW. All these centres are locally owned and managed and represent the largest network of local, place-based community development organisations in NSW.

One of the more exciting things about this conference was that it was the first time that the international, national and State organisations had ever met in Australia.

There are 1065 centres or houses in Australia, more than there are McDonalds’, and over 11,000 internationally in 33 countries.

They all share a commitment to similar work across all continents, except Antarctica, and share a history that dates from the late 1800s.

In our Mid North Coast region there are 10 centres, from Woolgoolga to Camden Haven. All represent essential social infrastructure supporting their local communities.

Unlike other States, there is no core funding for these centres in NSW. The Queensland government base funds centres $230,000 per year to open their doors and operate safely and effectively.

In the lead-up to the NSW general election next March, the LCSA is leading a campaign to gain a commitment for all NSW political parties to fund Neighbourhood and Community Centres in NSW properly so that their essential work can be undertaken more certainly, without the need to cobble together small surpluses from a myriad of grants from a  range of difference sources to fund the essential community development work that is their core business.

It is about time that these Centres are recognised by the NSW Government, whatever the political make-up, as they are in other States.

Our local communities will be stronger, more resilient and better able to identify and sustain local solutions to our many challenges.

Regards,

Paul Sekfy,

Yarranbella.