00:01The community of Bondi and Jewish organisations are a major focus of this year's federal budget.
00:07Overall, $600 million has been allocated over five years for measures targeting hate speech,
00:13violent extremism and social cohesion.
00:17$130 million has been allocated for the Royal Commission, which is already underway
00:22and focusing on the issue of anti-Semitism and social cohesion,
00:25but much of the money has also been allocated for Jewish organisations.
00:29Many who have been working on the ground here in Bondi in the months following the Bondi terrorist attack.
00:35That includes $43 million over two years for immediate mental health support to the Jewish community,
00:41broader Bondi community and first responders.
00:44The budget also includes $102 million over four years to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry,
00:51which will distribute the funding to strengthen security for Jewish communities.
00:54And those organisations desperately need the funding because of their greatly increased security costs
01:02over the last two and a half years in particular.
01:04They need extra funding for guarding, unfortunately, for security infrastructure like fencing
01:11and blast proof doors, shatter proof windows, CCTV cameras and the like.
01:16And we're talking about the full range of communal organisations, schools, kindergartens, places of worship.
01:24Some of these initiatives are being jointly funded by the New South Wales Government,
01:28which is preparing to hand down its budget next month.
01:31This one's above politics. So from my perspective, it's very good that the Federal Government has provided some additional money
01:36for the grieving communities of New South Wales as we are recovering from the worst terror atrocity in Australia.
01:43We'll have a bit more to say in our budget.
01:45I'd also just say that we haven't waited for our budget to be able to provide all the emergency assistance
01:51that's needed for families.
01:53Now, this funding boost comes as the Royal Commission continues hearings.
01:58So far, we've heard from Jewish organisations and Jewish leaders about the cost they're having to bear for security,
02:06whether it be in schools, aged care and other organisations.
02:09In many cases, the community itself is having to stump up these costs.
02:13And in some cases, it's coming at the expense of core activities.
02:17We heard evidence last week in the Royal Commission that aged care homes in Victoria are having to increasingly put
02:24money into security
02:26at the expense of their core costs.
02:28And Jewish organisations, community organisations have echoed those concerns.
02:33They're having to spend more on security and that's at the expense of community outreach.
02:38So it's hoped that this funding will help bridge that funding gap a bit
02:42and that it will help encourage those organisations to be able to divert that money back into measures
02:48focusing on not only social cohesion, but that real sort of bread and butter work that they do every day
02:54in the community.
Comments