Senate calls on Government to commit to Youth in Communities

The Senate has today supported an Australian Greens motion recognising the success of the Youth in Communities (YIC) program.

Senator Rachel Siewert, Australian Greens spokesperson on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Issues said today that YIC has shown strong, positive outcomes for youth in central Australia.

“Courage Partners, in their report on YIC service provider survey findings has identified improved school attendance, reduced substance misuse and reduced involvement in the criminal justice system as a result of the program,” said Senator Siewert.

“This typifies the value of development services for youth, particularly those at high risk in remote communities.

“This motion encourages the Federal Government to commit to community based aspects of the YIC measure beyond its current expiry date of June 2012.

“This commitment is important for ensuring that services can retain community based staff.

“The Senate has also called on the Government to carry out a gap analysis to assist program expansion, with a view to extending appropriate youth services to youth in all Northern Territory communities who currently miss out on services.

“I encourage the Government to continue their support of this program, as these community based programs are a much better way of addressing disadvantage than the punitive top down approach seen in other programs,” Senator Siewert concluded.