Community Grants

The Hon. J.S. LEE (14:42): My question is to the Minister for Human Services regarding community grants. Can the minister please outline to the council how the Marshall Liberal government is supporting vulnerable South Australians and communities through Grants SA?

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (Minister for Human Services) (14:42): I thank the honourable member for her question. Indeed, we do run a Grants SA range of programs that are very well received within the community. Generally, they are one-off grants, and they can be applied to a range of purposes and support many activities in the community that might not otherwise receive funding.

Quite recently, we announced the successful recipients of the last grant round, which provided over half a million dollars to support vulnerable South Australians and was intended to help South Australians to reconnect with each other and their communities. Some of the successful grant recipients include an inclusive play space for families fleeing domestic violence and a kitchen upgrade to produce nutritious meals for the community, among some 36 not-for-profit projects that were provided grants of up to $25,000.

Some of them include the Ahwazian Community In Australia, which was to purchase equipment that benefits a proportion of asylum seekers; Beach Road Artworks, which I understand is in our southern area; and the Bungala Kitchen facility, which is located at Port Augusta. They run a great service there, which I have visited, to train particularly Aboriginal people in cooking, and they also deliver a number of meals to people in the Port Augusta community.

We have Centacare Catholic Country Ltd, this is to create the play space that I mentioned at Ceduna, and that is a safe place. The Clarendon Community Association has a community centre and an op shop. We also have the Coorabie and District's Progress Association and there is an upgrade of the Fowler's Bay playground. The Disability Advocacy and Complaints Service of South Australia has a really interesting program called Girls in Autism, which draws on the lived experiences of 12 to 18-year-old girls with autism to develop and publish a monthly podcast series, run by and for girls with autism.

We also have Dis-Able Sailing Incorporated, for a freedom yacht; the Encounter Centre Edwardstown Baptist Church; Enfield Baptist Church Incorporated; and a range of other organisations. We know that during COVID people have been seeking to connect, so this round has been very much about helping people to reconnect in the community and we are very pleased to have been able to support a range of programs.