Page 3430 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 22 August 2018
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Clubs—community contributions
MRS KIKKERT: My question is to the Minister for Disability, Children and Youth. Minister, the Adoptive Families Association of the ACT supports and encourages Canberra families that are in the process of adopting or have adopted a child. They also support a growing number of families that include children on permanent care orders. The association is run by a small committee of volunteers. As president Karin MacDonald has publicly stated, the association’s activities are supported by community contributions from the Southern Cross Club. Minister, if some or all of the Southern Cross Club’s community contributions are taken into a central fund, who will provide financial support for the Adoptive Families Association?
MR RAMSAY: Given that that specifically relates to the work around the community contributions fund, I think it is more appropriate for me to answer that. Again I note that with the community contributions fund we have consulted on that, with the intention of being able to maximise the benefits for the community.
What we have also announced, to clarify it for members of the opposition, if they have not quite picked up exactly what we have announced, is that the requirements that are placed on clubs at the moment to contribute eight per cent will be staying in place, and clubs are able to determine how that is going. We will make sure there is some tightening of the rules around that, so that there are not the perverse outcomes that I have referred to publicly before. But the clubs will have that responsibility and that authority to make determinations as to how that is distributed. Clubs will still be able to make contributions beyond what is legally required of them. The government is not going to set a maximum as to what clubs are able to give to community groups. We are seeking to maximise that. The whole intention of this is that groups that benefit will be able to continue to do so, and groups that have not yet been able to benefit will also be able to benefit.
MRS KIKKERT: Minister, does this government have the capacity to fully fund the Adoptive Families Association if its current access to community contributions is lost or reduced?
MR RAMSAY: It is one that sits between us. Fundamentally I reject the premise of the question.
MRS DUNNE: Minister, are you prepared to go on record that the Adoptive Families Association of the ACT will not be financially worse off under any changes this government is proposing to the community contributions scheme?
MR RAMSAY: The changes to the community contributions scheme still enable clubs to have the discretion to make determinations. What happens with clubs’ determinations will be a matter for clubs. We are seeking to maximise the benefit to community and community groups.
Clubs—community contributions
MS LEE: My question is to the Minister for Regulatory Services. Currently over 60 schools in the ACT in both the government and non-government sectors benefit
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