NSW Multicultural funding not being reduced
NSW Minister for Citizenship and Communities Victor Dominello has dismissed claims, rehashed by Labor for a third time, that the NSW Government has reduced funding for multicultural communities in the 2013-14 State Budget.
Victor Dominello photo: Henry Benjamin
“The NSW Government has increased funding to the Community Relations Commission (CRC) by 0.7 per cent for 2013/14. Since Labor lost office in 2011, the number of successful CRC grants also rose from 163 to 178,” Mr Dominello said.
Last week Opposition Spokesperson for Citizenship and Communities, Guy Zangari MP claimed that the CRC budget had decreased by 7.6 per cent and the number grants reduced from 600 to 150.
“You know Labor is struggling when they start recycling discredited information from five months ago. This claim was also made in June and again in August,” Mr Dominello said.
“A proper examination of the CRC Annual Report shows that core budget funding has increased from $10.469 million in 2012/13 to $10.545 million in 2013/14. Funding for the Multicultural Advantage Grants Program has increased by 2.4 per cent.
“Labor is comparing apples with bananas. As the NSW Government explained at Budget Estimates in August, it is disingenuous to compare a revised budget figure for one year with the core budget number for another year,” he said.
“Mr Zangari is also comparing the number of CRC grant applications at the Expression of Interest (EoI) stage with the number of approved grants.
“Labor is peddling these inaccurate claims about funding cuts in the hope of creating anxiety among our multicultural communities. Mr Zangari’s claims show the laziness and sloppiness which were hallmarks of Labor’s time in government.
“In contrast to Labor’s 16 years of tokenism towards multiculturalism, the NSW Government is genuinely engaging and consulting with multicultural communities on improving the delivery of government services,” Mr Dominello said.
