GriefLine: fundingThursday, May 07, 2009 Members StatementThe Brumby government continues its approach of intimidating and bullying small community organisations. For almost six months GriefLine and its 132 trained volunteers have been unsure whether they will have to close their doors or will be funded to continue their valuable work. Following pressure from the opposition and the media, the Premier on 24 March said he had offered GriefLine some further funding -- it is funding, I think, of $100 000. He went on to say he had:
However, more than six weeks after the Premier's 3AW announcement, GriefLine has received no further information from the government except for a random call from the Department of Human Services to a GriefLine board member implying that if the amalgamation did not take place, then it would not get the money. The reality is that GriefLine and Lifeline offer two very different services. Lifeline offers a crisis intervention and telephone referral service; GriefLine is a 24-hour counselling service. Lifeline focuses largely on grief and loss; GriefLine's services also assist people with a mental illness and people experiencing financial and relationship problems. It now has a program for Victorians who have become retrenched as a result of the current economic downturn. These people are now all at risk. It is obvious that the Premier is continuing his preference for spin over substance. Declining to provide the money unless a merger takes place is in direct conflict with the Premier's statement and is in direct conflict with the wellbeing of Victorians who depend on this service.
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