Tuesday, 2 December 2025

 Annabelle CLEELAND (Euroa) (19:05): (1451) My adjournment this evening is for the Minister for Carers and Volunteers, and the action I seek is for the minister to guarantee sustainable, long-term funding for neighbourhood houses across my electorate of Euroa. I have recently sat with parents, carers, retirees, jobseekers and people quietly battling illness and isolation, and no matter their background they tell me the same thing: their local neighbourhood house is the one place where they feel supported, welcomed and understood. They are not just community buildings, they are lifelines. In Seymour a young mum told me that her neighbourhood house was the first place she dared to walk into after fleeing family violence. In Violet Town, Jenny White told me she uses the house for food and friendship. Mr Marshall, nearby in Strathbogie, said he relied on his neighbourhood house to keep in touch with people because he lives alone. Sen Dan from Violet Town said, ‘If we do not keep it going, we will lose a sense of ourselves,’ and Elaine Hayes said to me, ‘This is such an important service. Please help.’ Just last week at Waminda in Benalla, with the living angel Leeane Bullard, who keeps her finger firmly on the pulse of our community, I met with Summer, who turns 10 this week. Happy birthday, Summer. I cannot wait to see where your art takes you. At Waminda they also provide after-school care and meals for children who may otherwise miss out. If the minister spent time in our communities, she would see just how priceless this safety net really is.

Across my electorate we now have 10 neighbourhood houses at risk: Broadford Living and Learning Centre, Kilmore Community Centre, Nagambie Lakes Community House, Neighbourhood House Murchison, Puckapunyal and District Neighbourhood Centre, Pyalong Neighbourhood House, Seymour & District Community House, Tablelands Community Centre, Violet Town Community House and Waminda Community House in Benalla. I want to place on the record how grateful I am for every facilitator, staff member and volunteer in these houses. They are the quiet lifeline in our towns, showing up for people who are doing it tough every single day. Across Victoria nearly 200,000 ‍people walk through neighbourhood house doors each week seeking training, food relief, childcare support, mental health support and a place to belong. Right now, because of inadequate funding, many houses are being forced to turn people away. Staff tell me they are rationing programs, running on the smell of an oily rag and relying on volunteers who are burning out. Budgets have barely grown in a decade, while demand has surged nearly 30 per cent since COVID, and without a 25 per cent increase to core funding in the 2026 election budget many neighbourhood houses will be forced to cut programs, reduce hours or close altogether. Last week the Allan Labor government issued a glossy press release about food relief grants, but beyond the spin is a very different reality. One local neighbourhood house has recently confirmed it will be forced to make staff redundant because the funding received was only one-third of what was requested. This evening I learned from Broadford Living and Learning that they have no funding whatsoever – that is 60 families who now will not have support in our community, and this is happening at this very moment. Families are choosing between paying the power bill, covering rent and putting food on the table. Our communities deserve better than this government.