COMMUNITY AFFAIRS LEGISLATION COMMITTEE
NB – Due to the length of the full transcript of this hearing, the following is an extract.
Discussion
[6.01 pm]
CHAIR—We will move on now to 3.4, Support for youth.
Senator JOYCE—Are you aware of two groups that are referred to as Open Doors, one in Queensland and one in Victoria?
Ms Loveday—Do you know in which program those might be?
Senator JOYCE—These are under the Reconnect program. Could you just clarify that there are, first of all, two groups? There is one in Victoria and there is one in Queensland and they are separate organisations. I am referring in this instance, being a senator from Queensland, to Open Doors in Queensland. What is your knowledge of this group and what are its terms of reference?
Ms Loveday—They would be required to deliver services under the Reconnect program and would be required to meet the terms of that program, which is to assist youth who are at risk of homelessness and reconnect them in terms of keeping a connection with their families and the community.
Senator JOYCE—Have you ever been onto the Open Doors web site and seen what they do?
Ms Loveday—No, Senator, I have not.
Senator JOYCE—They are actually a gay lobby group. Are you aware of how much was given to them last year or this year?
Ms Loveday—Yes, their funding level proposed for 2005-06 is $190,367.
Senator JOYCE—I understand the principles of your funding and I have no problems with the principles of helping homeless people. I do have an issue with the other operations of this group. They have an expansive role beyond the specifics of your funding. Is there a stringent audit of your funding in such a form that it really ensures that the funding goes towards the provision of shelter for those who are homeless and makes sure that it is not siphoned off into other causes?
Ms Loveday—All our organisations have to acquit the funds that they receive under the Reconnect program and they have to prove that the funds have been used for the purposes for which they were given the funding under Reconnect. I understand that the organisation you refer to has met all the requirements of the funding for Reconnect and has acquitted accordingly.
Dr Harmer—A number of the organisations we fund for these specific programs have other sources of funds through other bodies or other avenues.
Senator JOYCE—Not so much this one: this one has received $191,443 from the department of community services and $4,145 from another grant. This is in their tabled financial statements. Then they received some minor funding from Brisbane City Council—$3,000—and a few others. But the vast source of funding is—
Dr Harmer—Reconnect.
Senator JOYCE—The Reconnect program.
Ms Loveday—They would be required to report what they have spent the money on.
Senator JOYCE—Is it possible that they could use this funding for other projects such as going to schools and promoting other types of lifestyles?
Ms Loveday—We have received their normal acquittals, which they are required to do on a yearly basis. The information they have given to us is that the funds have been used for the Reconnect program.
Senator JOYCE—And, as you said, the Reconnect program is first and foremost—or exclusively—for the shelter of homeless—
Ms Loveday—It is not for the shelter of homeless. That is crisis intervention. This is a program for children who are at risk of disengagement from their families and at risk of homelessness. This program seeks to keep them connected with their families and avoid homelessness. That is the point of the program.
Dr Harmer—It is an early intervention program.
Senator JOYCE—It is early intervention to stop them from disconnecting from their families?
Ms Loveday—Sometimes, at the point when they come to notice, they may fall into homelessness, but the program basically looks at the risk of homelessness and offers things like counselling, mediation and support to the young person and their family.
Senator JOYCE—And Open Doors are doing that?
Ms Loveday—Yes, as far as I am aware, they are doing that. They have met all our requirements.
Senator JOYCE—Are you aware that Open Doors are currently involved in a vilification case against a gentleman by the name of Max Lynch, a World War II returned serviceman who fought in Papua New Guinea and is in his mid-80s, by reason that he has been informing schools of their wider agenda?
Ms Loveday—I am aware that there is a case being heard by the Queensland Ombudsman. I do not know if that is the same case that you are referring to.
Senator JOYCE—Obviously, that is an issue that has been brought to our attention, and we feel that it is intrinsically unfair that one person who has served the country so well is targeted for special attention by a group that is receiving federal funding. I have no problem with the purpose of the Reconnect program, but I do think that we need a stronger connection between the Reconnect program and what the people in receipt of these funds are doing with them. I have had a quick perusal of their audited financial statements, and they show very limited funding except for what they get from the department of community services. In a sources and application of funds statement, I would hate to think that we are somehow financing a legal case against a returned serviceman or, alternatively, using federal funds to promote a personal lifestyle choice in schools, where people are in their formative years.
Ms Loveday—We have no evidence that federal funding has been used to fund any legal action by this organisation.
Senator JOYCE—Would it be fair to say that nor would you want any of your Reconnect funding to go towards promotion of a personal lifestyle decision at a high school?
Ms Loveday—Promotion of a lifestyle is not part of the Reconnect funding; it is about connecting the young people at risk of homelessness with their families. Some of our services have particular focuses on young people in certain circumstances, so there are some that would focus on Indigenous young people and there are others that would focus on young people with disabilities and, yes, this organisation was seen to meet a need for young people who have identified themselves as having a certain sexual orientation. However, they are not funded under the Reconnect program to do any promotion of any sort. They are there to offer strategies to help address that risk of homelessness and disconnection from families.