Well thank you Assistant Commissioner, my parliamentary colleague Kay Elson, ladies and gentlemen.
I want first of all to thank the Police Citizens Club and the Queensland Police for the courtesy that they've extended to me today and allowing me to make this announcement on these premises. And in the course of that to give me an opportunity albeit briefly of observing some of the activities of the Police Citizens Clubs, which now for decades have provided one of the most effective antidotes against crime and one of the most effective ways in which young people can have their energy and enthusiasm and commitment channelled in the right direction. And it is important at the outset that I acknowledge the enormous contribution that the police forces all around Australia, not only in Queensland but all around Australia contribute to the cause of good citizenship.
Yesterday I had the opportunity of announcing here in Brisbane a major initiative in our Tough on Drugs campaign, which has now totalled the commitment of about $1 billion at a national level and is beginning for the first time in years to see a decline in heroin death rates, they've come down by some 600 on an annual basis between 1999 and 2001. There are other encouraging signs on that front and I hope that trend can be continued.
Back in the year 2000, we launched a four year programme to spend $226 million in funding all around Australia a series of projects that were designed to plug gaps in communities, provide individual organisations with money, to launch programmes that would strengthen both communities and strengthen families.
And today I'm announcing a further 73 of those programmes that are going to attract funding of some $7 million. And that includes four projects of particular interest to the people of Queensland. The Families - Our Future, a programme sponsored by the Queensland Police Citizens Youth Welfare Association, will receive some $23,500 for family oriented recreation and educational activities. The Mabel Park Power programme will receive $109,580 to provide practical assistance and personal support for young students who are pregnant or parenting to enable them to continue their education. The breakthrough project in Redland Shire which involves a partnership between Boys Town, the Koori Elders and the Rock Christian Church, and they will receive $300,000 for integrated services focusing particularly on the needs of indigenous young people. And there'll also be a grant of $133,000 to be made available for the Pathways to Leadership project and this project will provide training for potential leaders who have disabilities to assist other disabled people and their families to participate more fully in the community.
Now very deliberately we have tried with this programme to give a large number of organisations support, rather than provide all of the funds to one organisation, which then disperses it according to its judgment. We've decided to fund a very large number of projects with amounts of money that assist them to build their activities in their communities. I've always held a very strong view that the backbone of the social stability of this country is a strong sense of community. And when you get parents and local organisations, such as the Police Citizens organisations, or local sporting clubs, local church organisations, other local community organisations working together and identifying difficulties and problems you can normally find ways of overcoming it.
One of the things that we have found in the administration of this programme and the research that has come out of it, is the enormous value of early childhood intervention of identifying children and families that are risk from the very beginning. And it is quite extraordinary what progress can be made if those families can be identified and helped at a very early stage. And applying the doctrine of prevention being better than cure, I think all of us know, and not least the men and women of our police forces know, that if you can do that at an early stage than you can ensure that young people don't embark upon antisocial behaviour, they don't lapse into crime and they don't begin to associate with criminal elements in the community. And the more we can build our communities and the more we can support local organisations to achieve that the greater will be the success.
So, I'm delighted at the opportunity at this little gathering this morning to make this announcement and to again salute the contribution that the police of the country make to the well being of our society. It's not an easy job being a policeman or a policewoman, but it's a very valuable job. I admire the work that our police do and I couldn't be more pleased that the Police Citizens Association has made this venue available for this announcement. And I think it's a very good programme and it's a programme that is making a very important contribution to the building of a stronger community and stronger and better family. Thank you very much.
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