Thank you very much Tim and my federal parliamentary colleagues, Louise Markus, Pat Farmer and Connie Fierravanti-Wells, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to start by thanking Tim and all the other members of the Advisory Group for their commitment to this very important investment, not so much investment of dollars but investment by the federal government in the priority of doing what it can at a grass roots level to fight community crime. In our government's setup of course, dealing with crime on a day to day grass roots level, is overwhelmingly the responsibility of the state government. But I haven't come here today to pass any judgement on that or to criticise it rather I have come here today in a positive frame of mind to announce eight recipients of grants under our Greater Western Sydney Region Community Crime Prevention Programme This is part of a wider programme of some $50 million committed by the Federal Government all over Australia to assist community organisations to fight crime in different ways, to prevent it and one or two of the programmes reflect that, in fact they all in different ways reflect that and in other ways to fight it more directly.
Crime does undermine, and in some cases destroy the quality of life and it is a community responsibility and all people of goodwill, irrespective of where they come from are friends of the police and are friends of the government in the ongoing fight against crime and I want to start my remarks by expressing my admiration of the work of police forces all around Australia. It's a miserable job on many occasions, it's a hard job, it's a thankless job and I believe the men and women of the police services of our nation, whether they are at state or federal level, deserve our unstinting support, respect and continued cooperation.
What I am announcing here today is the first round of grants for the Greater Western Sydney region and as I indicated some $8 million of funding over a period of four years has been allocated to programmes in this part of Australia and that is part of an overall programme of some $50 million. This round attracted great interest from the Greater Western Sydney region and all applications were very carefully considered by the Advisory Group and that Advisory Group was chaired by Tim and I do want to thank Tim for his dedication. Tim is quite a figure on this issue; he's a bloke who understands it better than most, he is somebody who calls it as it is and he is therefore a friend of the communities of Western Sydney because he does understand and he does sympathise very much with the concerns and the aspirations of these communities and you will see as I announce each award, just how diverse the recipients are and it hasn't all been concentrated in one area. There will be some familiar organisations, the names at least will be familiar to you, there will be some that are not so familiar but they all indicate the fact that we've got such a diverse group indicates the range of people who want to help and it also indicates the diversity of the community that we are here to assist and we are here to aid.
But what I want to do is as they announce each one, I'd like the person to come forward and I am going to be helped very much aren't I to hand out a certificate to each of them and I am going to announce it, I am going to describe what it is, I'll invite the representative of the organisation to come forward and we'll have a photograph, I'll hand over the certificate and then I will go onto the next organisation.
Now the first of six organisations that come from the community safety stream of the Programme, the first one to receive a grant is the Airds Bradbury Community Centre and their programme is entitled Bridging Disadvantage and Crime through Education. A $120,000 grant. And this is for a project in the Campbelltown Local Government areas to advance community cohesion, health and well-being through community skill based educational courses to strengthen individuals and families. The courses will cover life and parenting skills, early childhood development, and employment.
Now the next one is to go to the Blacktown Migrant Resource Centre and this is for a Community Harmony and Crime Prevention with African Communities in Blacktown and it's a grant of $149,180. And this is a project to engage local Sudanese and other African communities with local human services and businesses in a collaborative manner to reduce the incidence of crime. And the project will work with these communities on addressing the growth in cases of offenders or victims of crime as well as broader safety fears.
Now the next one goes to the Cumberland Women's Health Centre. The Cumberland Women's Health Centre. Yes let's hear it for the Cumberland Women's Health Centre. This is a grant of $145,000 to work with various religious and community leaders across Western Sydney to reduce domestic violence in the community. And this involves leaders in education and development of strategies that will enhance their capacity to respond to family violence and promote family harmony within their communities and congregations. Come forward.
Now the next is the Mount Druitt Ethnic Communities Agency and it's called Pacific Lets Talk project. $127,800 and a project to bridge the intergenerational divide between parents and young people, often seen as a causal factor of involvement in criminal and anti-social behaviour. It's to be delivered in a camp setting, it will target young people aged 12-17 years and their parents and grandparents who happen to be caregivers.
Now the next grant goes to Salvation Army New South Wales under the title of Caf‚ Horizons Penrith. This is a grant of $150,000 to provide life skills and vocational training to prevent or reduce youth crime and anti-social behaviour. It's designed to engage disadvantaged young people aged 15 to 25, particularly those involved in drug abuse and/or crime, within Western Sydney.
Now the next one goes to a well known organisation, Youth Off the Streets under the heading of Leading Your Community project . A grant of $150,000 to address the incidence of youth crime, enhance community safety in the Airds area and it will provide leadership workshops and peer-to-peer learning, regular community consultation and volunteering opportunities for the wider community.
Now there are two grants from the Community Partnerships Stream and these, because of the nature of them, are in quantity, slightly larger. The first goes to Hillsong Emerge under the description of Greater Blacktown Community Partnership. And this is a grant of $414,000 and is to engage and empower residents throughout the Blacktown area to address and implement crime prevention strategies through community enhancement. Activities with partner agencies will involve the Sudanese community in the Blacktown area and Indigenous youth in the Riverstone area to encourage residents to take personal responsibility for the maintenance and improvement of their homes, streets, parks and commercial areas with the goal of reducing vandalism, crime and fear of crime.
And the last one and a very important one goes to the Royal Society for the Welfare of Mothers and Babies under the description of Mothering at a Distance. A grant of $447.00. And this is a project to be conducted at correctional facilities in Silverwater, Emu Plains, South Windsor and Berrima which focuses on the needs of imprisoned mothers with children between 0 and 5 years with the aim, the very important aim, of breaking the cycle of inter-generational crime. And it will establish a self-sustaining education and support programme to address the needs of mothers and enhance their ability to provide proper parenting, reducing thus we hope, reduce the impact of separation due to them being in jail. I think it's a wonderful programme and I think it's worthy of the support and I invite the representative to come forward.
Well ladies and gentleman that finishes my contribution this morning, can I say again how grateful I am to such a diverse range of community organisations for applying for these grants and you can see from the diversity of the groups that are represented just how much of the money provided under these grants will really flow through to positive grassroots activities and all of these organisations will work in close collaboration with police, they work in close collaboration with government agencies and close collaboration with community organisations and I [inaudible] I wish them well having being present at the first announcement of the Greater Western Sydney Grants. It re-affirms my faith in the original decision taken for the federal government to be a little more involved in a way that's cooperative, not in a way that is replacing in any way the role, of the important role of the state government because these are combined efforts, we've all got to work together to fight crime and I hope these community organisations with this assistance will be able to play their part and I wish them well and I again thank Tim very warmly and I thank our colleague Louise for organising today and having it out here, it is great to be back in her electorate, it is great to back in Blacktown and it's great to be part of the very important community effort in the western suburbs of Sydney.
Thank you.
[ends]