I am pleased to announce an additional $2.3 million for a six-month
extension of the Youth Homeless Pilot Programme and to launch the
interim report of the Youth Homeless Taskforce.
The funding boost will allow the Youth Homeless Pilot Programme to
continue its valuable and innovative work while the Government considers
a response to the taskforce's recommendations for future policy
directions.
One of my first actions as Prime Minister was to personally convene
a meeting of community leaders to discuss youth homelessness -- a
meeting that lead to the formation of the 14-member Youth Homeless
Taskforce.
Youth homelessness is a terrible problem which often begins a cycle
of dependency for young people and has ramifications across the entire
community.
The taskforce has established 26 Pilot Projects around Australia with
the aim of trialing a range of innovative early intervention and family
reconciliation strategies in conjunction with community organisations
to combat homelessness. These pilots have been in operation for almost
a year and I commend the taskforce and the project participants for
their work.
The work has already highlighted how parents need support and information
after young people leave home. To assist parents in this situation,
my Government has recently announced the trial of a parent liaison
service. This service will allow parents to obtain information on
a "hot line" on the homeless rate assessment and provide
them with an opportunity to raise concerns.
I am looking forward to receiving the final report of the taskforce
later this year. I am sure it will build on the strengths of the interim
report and the success of the work of the pilots.