Morwell electorate
Mr NORTHE (Morwell) (14:49): (5351) My constituency question is to the Minister for Regional Development in the other place. Minister, I ask on behalf of the many constituents within my community who have an affiliation with the Ladder Step Up Latrobe Valley program as to what the latest information is regarding ongoing funding of this terrific organisation. The Ladder program offers support for young people aged 16 to 25 through increased access to quality education, employment and training, and health and wellbeing outcomes. I am proud to say that I am one of the many local mentors and can personally attest firsthand to the benefits and outcomes experienced by participants and everyone involved. As I understand, Ladder Step Up Latrobe Valley is currently funded through the Latrobe Valley Authority, and unfortunately it seems no funding is being guaranteed beyond December 2020. As you can appreciate, trying to operate any organisation with such short funding tenures of approximately six-month blocks makes it very difficult to plan, maintain and improve services that are so important. Minister, given the matters raised, I ask: will you urgently meet with the Ladder team to discuss the future of this vital program they deliver in my electorate?