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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-06-27 Daily Xml
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Question Time

Food Security Budget Measures

Ms WORTLEY (Torrens) (14:53): My question is to the Minister for Human Services. Can the minister advise how the state budget is providing support for food security and financial counselling now and into the future?

The Hon. N.F. COOK (Hurtle Vale—Minister for Human Services) (14:53): Thanks to the member for Torrens for this question. I have visited her community and this has actually been a topic of conversation that we have had with local community members, not just there but across South Australia, especially in recent times, as the community is managing critical needs while times are tough.

Within the hundreds of millions of dollars in cost-of-living support, I am really proud that our budget has included $5 million for financial counselling and food relief. The additional funding will deliver immediate support and help over the coming four years. The commitment begins with $1 million in extra funding over two years for financial counselling outreach services in community centres. This builds on our 60 per cent boost to community centre funding and reinforces the assistance for local people, bringing people together in this place, offering help in the place where they live. The package also includes $2 million over four years for Foodbank to assist their critical work, and a further $2 million over four years for other food relief organisations.

This package follows announcements of support for school meals, reduced school charges, indexation of concession payments, and a new energy rebate worth up to $500 per household for around half the homes in South Australia. The new package of financial counselling and food relief supports our broader work around emergency relief, balanced by building long-term capacity and resilience within individual families and their broader communities.

The Department of Human Services has been working alongside Wellbeing SA on the Secure Food Systems Review. This is expected to be completed by the end of this year and will guide our future plans in relation to this type of work. Food security is a critical determinant of health, and food relief is an essential part of the service system, providing an immediate response to those in financial crisis. For many, food insecurity is a chronic rather than short-term issue.

The Food Centre reports unprecedented levels of demand for services, and many organisations are telling us about first timers who have never needed help until now. Foodbank reports that 50 per cent of their recently presenting clients are in employment and 30 per cent of those have mortgages. These kinds of reports show us we need to do more, but we also need new responses for new groups with different circumstances.

The ongoing work between the Department of Human Services and Wellbeing SA is exploring alternative models that support equitable, culturally appropriate, and dignified access to nutritious food. This work will support us to understand the best way to help communities experiencing high levels of food insecurity. The additional funds will help more South Australians navigate tricky financial situations and provide dignified and non-judgemental support.

In closing, I want to stress the importance of people feeling okay to ask for help. Wherever possible we want households to have the dignity of work and be able to provide for themselves and make choices about how they spend their money but, when times are tough, it is important—more important than ever—for people to feel okay about asking for help. It is hard enough to deal with sudden increases in costs and loss of work without also loading yourself up with a perceived stigma about needing help.

A key role of government and the community is to support the people around us in challenging times, and that is exactly what the Malinauskas Labor government is doing.

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