The state budget, handed down today by the Queensland Government, sees another $5 million dollars of funding cut from front-line youth services. 

The Director of the Youth Affairs Network of Queensland has warned that this broken promise will have negative impacts on the whole community. 

Today's budget papers confirm that on top of efficiency cuts to youth services over the previous year, the Department of Communities has cut millions of dollars of funding to the Youth Support Co-ordinators Program, a program focused on supporting young people who are at risk of or have disengaged from learning to successfully transition into and through their Senior Phase of Learning. 

Youth Affairs Network of Queensland's (YANQ) Director, Siyavash Doostkhah, has today strongly criticised the LNP Government for their broken election promise. 

“These are front-line services we are talking about. The research and evidence on hand clearly demonstrate the link between disengaging from schools and ending up in the criminal justice system,” said Mr Doostkhah. 

“The budget has failed young Queenslanders and the whole community will ultimately pay the price. Putting young people straight in detention does not make the community safer. It only teaches young people to become hardened criminals.” 

“The Queensland Government spends hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on each young person locked in Youth Detention Centres. This money would be much better spent in the communities where these young people come from, giving them alternative options and ensuring they stay in schools and away from the criminal justice system.”

“Unlike other states where they are closing their Youth Detention Centres, we fear that Queensland will have to build another centre to cope with the fallout of cutting funding to preventative services.”

The youth sector in Queensland has been the hardest hit by the LNP funding cuts and reviews. Youth workers play a critical role in the lives of disengaged young people. They build trusting relationships with young people and help young people re-engage with community and become a contributing member of society. 

Contact
Siyavash Doostkhah
Director - Youth Affairs Network Qld
07 3844 7713 | director@yanq.org.au

Youth Affairs Network Queensland believes young people have been the hardest hit by the Newman Government's savings drive, and community groups dependant on state funding are too fearful to speak out.

Queensland's peak body for youth affairs predicts there'll be more young people behind bars in the state within a year due to the LNP's cost cutting measures.

Click to listen to the feature

Guests Siyavash Doostkhah
Director, Youth Affairs Network Queensland
Elizabeth Fraser
Commissioner, Commission of Children and Young People and Adult Guardian

Credits
Reporter
Cathy Ban Extel, Queenland reporter

Darryl Passmore of the Courier Mail wrties that Premier Campbell Newman's public servant gag orders a return to bad old days.

THE Newman Government has been accused of trying to silence dissent by "intimidating" critics in the community sector. Senior staff of state-funded organisations have received phone calls telling them their presence at rallies protesting against Government spending cuts has been noted.

It has drawn comparisons to the Joh Bjelke-Petersen era and his goon squad of Special Branch police.

Other groups who have been quoted publicly on the impacts of cost-cutting measures have received "please explain" calls.

Youth Affairs Network of Queensland, which will lose its $270,000 annual funding from December after 20 years as the state's peak body for youth services, claims it was punished for making a public call to other groups to unite against cutbacks.

In a newsletter article, executive director Siyavash Doostkhah had criticised the Government over cutbacks affecting the disadvantaged and attacked other non-profits as traitors for "remaining silent during these critical times".

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The Director of Queensland's youth peak body Youth Affairs Network Queensland (YANQ), Siyavash Doostkhah, has today accused the Queensland Government of abandoning and betraying young people and youth workers by cutting their support services.

"Premier Newman is acting like an unprepared Army General who leaves his solders in trenches without information, support, logistics, training and supplies", said Mr Doostkhah.

"The situation we now have in Queensland is the Premier insisting his government is all about front line services, whilst severely cutting all support systems for these services. The Newman Government has single-handedly put the entire youth sector in Queensland on the verge of collapse."

Government funding cuts have impacted significantly on support services to young people, with education, training, employment, justice and health services all being affected. The Government has also commenced a review of all youth programs, following on from initial 10% cuts to funding. More youth services are likely to lose their funding in the near future.

Leading youth affairs organisations around Australia have today expressed their strong opposition to plans to silence the principal voice for young Queenslanders and the youth sector that supports them

The Queensland government has indicated that funding to the Youth Affairs Network of Queensland (YANQ) will cease in just over two months, making it impossible for the voices and needs of young people to be heard in important decision making processes that affect their lives. Executive director of the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition, Andrew Cummings said, “YANQ is the only body in Queensland recognised as having the ability to speak out on the interests and wellbeing of young people across the state. Without YANQ, Queensland will be the only state without the capacity to contribute to important national debates affecting their young people, such as education reforms, youth disability services under the NDIS and Indigenous affairs.”

YANQ has received Queensland government funding for the past 21 years. In that time it has consolidated a strong network of youth support services - able to provide informed and evidence-based advice to government on the most pressing needs for young people and improve decisions that impact their lives.

The Youth Affairs Network of Queensland (YANQ) is concerned that the Minister for Communities has abdicated her responsibility to manage young people’s issues as part of her portfolio and is calling for the Premier to intervene.

Mr Siyavash Doostkhah, the Director of YANQ said, “This is a new government with some inexperienced Ministers who are making some serious mistakes.

“The knowledge vacuum in which decisions are being made is a very concerning sign. The Minister responsible for youth has not been seeking briefings from her department’s Office For Youth and has defunded the only peak body for the youth sector in Queensland, YANQ.”

Fair Work Australia (FWA) yesterday announced its decision on the Federal Equal Remuneration Case, acknowledging that pay rates in the community sector have for too long undervalued workers and been based on gender. YANQ Director, Siyavash Doostkhah, welcomed FWA's decision today, saying, “It's a decision that has the possibility to create a stronger community sector and support front-line workers in assisting some of the most disadvantaged people in our society, including at risk youth”.

“It can also assist us in attracting the next generation of workers to the sector, and to truly value the amazing work that community workers do”.

However, Mr Doostkhah also warned that these advances may be limited if the decision is not backed by adequate funding from Federal and State Governments.

“The deicison is positive, but now we need proof of the pudding. We acknowledge the comprehensive funding package committed to by the Federal Government for federally funded workers, but now call on the Queensland Government to match this to ensure there isn't a gap.”

“The 2009 Queensland Transitional Pay Equity Order was historic in the same way as the FWA decision, and although the Queensland Government did provide $414 million to fund the increase, the decision was not fully funded, and some community workers were left out in the cold. This meant services had to foot the bill themselves, impacting on the quality of the service they were able to provide.”

“In order to truly implement the spirit of the FWA decision, all federal and state funded positions must be provided with a full subsidy so the Equal Remuneration Case does not impact on the quality of the sector's services. Let's use this opportunity to build a stronger community sector that can provide excellent services and acknowlege the incredible work done by workers.”

For comment, contact Siyavash Doostkhah on 07 3844 7713.

N.B. Queensland services should note that for some organisations, the Queensland Transition Pay Equity Order remains in place until the federal rates exceed state pay equity rates. Organisations should seek advice on their individal position. The Queensland Council of Social Services has a list of links on the Community Door website to inform organisations of the changes.