The ACT Greens say today's pre-budget announcement from the minority Labor Government is enough for the community sector to survive, but not enough to create a truly strong safety net for people in Canberra.
"More people than ever are turning to local community organisations to cover the basics like food, housing, healthcare and household needs, so if today's funding announcement is the end of it, that's a real problem," said ACT Greens Leader Shane Rattenbury.
"The Greens have been working with the community sector ahead of this year's budget to really pressure Labor not to balance the books at the expense of people who most need the government's support.
"Today's announcement shows pressure works, and we've got to keep pushing.
"If Labor uses this budget to shut down the Rent Relief Fund or cut other essential supports, even more people are going be forced to seek help from the community sector.
"Today's announcement only helps community organisations with multi-year government funding arrangements. Other services have an anxious wait, year after year, to find out if they'll be able to keep operating.
"That has real life consequences for Canberrans who may lose their jobs, their support networks, or the roof over their heads," Mr Rattenbury said.
"Today's announcement of $10 million sounds nice, but spread across two years and 150 organisations - an average of $33,000 per year won't go far.
"When you hold this $5 million per year up against the $100 million we could raise every year from taxing big corporations in a way they'd barely notice, you see how much more the government could do.
"I'm urging the Treasurer to take up the Greens' proposal and raise extra revenue from the banks, the supermarkets, the airlines and the big retailers, which are contributing to cost of living pressures while racking up billions of dollars in profits.
"These corporations that love the ACT for being a prosperous, growing market should contribute more to our community. A drop from their ocean would be a significant pool of revenue for the ACT Government to properly fund the services Canberrans really need.
"The ACT Greens' vision is for Canberra to be a genuinely progressive city where we look out for one another. That's why we've got community services as a priority in our balance of power agreement that allowed Labor to form minority government, and why we're watching the unveiling of this budget very closely."
