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The Barr government should use the looming ACT budget to inject funding into services to support the nearly 40,000 Canberrans living in poverty, the ACT Council of Social Service has said. The organisation used a online forum last week with Chief Minister Andrew Barr to set out the community sector’s three main funding priorities ahead of the February 9 budget. It has called on the government to invest more in community services amid concerns about the growing levels of poverty and inequality in the nation’s capital. The number of people living in poverty in Canberra has risen to 38,000 according to the latest estimates, up from just under 30,000 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. ACTCOSS chief executive Emma Campbell has also framed the community sector as a driver of Canberra’s economic recovery. “Investment in this vital sector will not only ensure vulnerable members of our community receive support, but will also create new jobs and careers for school-leavers, graduates and those who have experienced unemployment as a result of COVID-19,” she said. Ms Campbell repeated calls for the government to address Canberra’s “chronic shortage” of affordable housing, pointing again to data which showed the ACT has a shortfall of about 3000 public housing properties. The Labor-Greens government has committed to building 400 new public housing dwellings by 2025, but ACTCOSS has urged a more ambitious target. Ms Campbell also wants to see more services and support for Canberra’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. “We continue to see unacceptable rates of disadvantage among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples in Canberra,” she said. “Instead we should be empowering communities through community-controlled organisations to make change.” For faster access to the latest Canberra news, download The Canberra Times app for iOS and Android.
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The Barr government should use the looming ACT budget to inject funding into services to support the nearly 40,000 Canberrans living in poverty, the ACT Council of Social Service has said.
The organisation used a online forum last week with Chief Minister Andrew Barr to set out the community sector’s three main funding priorities ahead of the February 9 budget.
It has called on the government to invest more in community services amid concerns about the growing levels of poverty and inequality in the nation’s capital.
ACTCOSS chief executive Emma Campbell has also framed the community sector as a driver of Canberra’s economic recovery.
“Investment in this vital sector will not only ensure vulnerable members of our community receive support, but will also create new jobs and careers for school-leavers, graduates and those who have experienced unemployment as a result of COVID-19,” she said.
Ms Campbell also wants to see more services and support for Canberra’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.
“We continue to see unacceptable rates of disadvantage among Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples in Canberra,” she said.
“Instead we should be empowering communities through community-controlled organisations to make change.”
