I am pleased to announce a Commonwealth endowment of $15 million for the new Foundation for Young Australians.
The Foundation for Young Australians has been created as a result of a merger between the Australian Youth Foundation and the Queen's Trust for Young Australians. It has been established at this time in order to mark the Centenary of Federation.
The Foundation will continue the important work of its predecessors as a non-profit organisation providing practical initiatives to help disadvantaged young people, and to promote excellence and leadership amongst the younger generation.
The Commonwealth endowment will initially be used to fund the 'Centenary Scholarships for Young Australians', providing support for 100 young people to undertake undergraduate or post-graduate study in academic and vocational areas. This will be a valuable Centenary of Federation project.
The Commonwealth contribution will also be used to support ongoing practical projects run by Foundation. The Foundation is committed to spending half of its programme funds on projects targeting disadvantaged young people. One example is the Hand Brake Turn Project that helps teenagers at risk of becoming involved in crime, to break the unemployment cycle, and to prevent them from entering or going back into the juvenile justice system.
The Foundation will also conduct initiatives that promote excellence and leadership. This aspect of the Foundation's work includes the Achiever Awards Programme, which provides grants to young Australians to pursue study in a wide range of fields. It also includes the 'Developing Tomorrow's Leaders' initiative.
In addition to its existing resources and the Commonwealth endowment, the Foundation will be seeking support from other Australian governments and from the private sector.
In this way, The Foundation for Young Australians is building a social coalition between government, business and the community that is working to provide practical assistance for the benefit of young Australians, and in doing so, to strengthen local communities.
1 June 2000