More than 1,200 Tasmanians have signed an open letter calling on the Tasmanian Government to commit to long-term funding certainty for community services, with the open letter tabled in Parliament today by Independent Member for Clark, Kristie Johnston MP.
The open letter, addressed to Premier, Jeremy Rockliff, and Treasurer, Eric Abetz, comes as the Tasmanian Budget fast approaches, and amid growing pressure on community service organisations facing rising demand, workforce challenges and short-term funding cycles.
TasCOSS CEO and spokesperson for the Tasmanian Coalition of Community Service Peaks, Ms Adrienne Picone, said the response to the open letter showed strong public pressure to treat community services as essential social and economic supports.
“By signing this letter, Tasmanians are standing up for the services that help people in every corner of our state to access support before reaching crisis point,” Ms Picone said.
“These names represent people who rely on these services, people who work and volunteer in them and people who know Tasmania is stronger when support is available.
“Tasmanians are sending a clear message to Government to use this Budget to invest in prevention and early support now, or risk paying far more later when people are pushed into avoidable crisis.”
Independent Member for Clark, Ms Kristie Johnston MP, said tabling the open letter in Parliament ensured the views of people who depended on community services were formally recorded and could not be ignored.
“Our community services are the core foundations that keep people housed, connected, safe and well,” Ms Johnston said.
“By tabling this letter in Parliament, we’re putting the Government on notice — Tasmanians want certainty, not stop-start funding and last-minute rescue packages.
“The Premier and Treasurer should commit to long-term funding so services can meet demand and people can get help when they first reach out.”
The open letter was co-authored by the Tasmanian Coalition of Community Service Peaks, 20 organisations who represent more than 28,000 employees and more than 46,000 volunteers across Tasmania. It has been supported by a public campaign sharing stories from people with firsthand lived experience of accessing community services.
Among them is Louise Paine, who said West Moonah Neighbourhood House became a place of connection and stability while she was living with mental illness. She has since gone on to become a board member, highlighting the long-term benefits of accessible, well-funded community support.
Ms Paine said stable funding was essential to ensure Neighbourhood Houses and other services could intervene early to prevent crisis.
“Without community services, I’d be institutionalised. I’d be in and out of hospital — I probably wouldn’t be here,” Ms Paine said.
A young carer from Burnie, Izzy Dewar, also shared her experience of supporting her family from the age of eight, while trying to stay engaged in school.
She said access to community support services made it possible for her to complete secondary school and go on to university.
“Without community services, I wouldn’t have gone to university or even completed year 12. I would have gone down a completely different path in life,” Ms Dewar said.
The Tasmanian Coalition of Community Service Peaks comprises of the following peak bodies:
- Ageing Australia Tasmania
- Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs Council (ATDC) Tasmania
- Carers Tasmania
- Community Legal Centres Tasmania
- Council on the Ageing (COTA) Tasmania
- CREATE Foundation
- Early Childhood Australia (ECA) Tasmania Branch
- Health Consumers Tasmania
- Local Government Association Tasmania (LGAT)
- Mental Health Council of Tasmania
- Multicultural Council of Tasmania
- National Disability Services (NDS) Tasmania
- Neighbourhood Houses Tasmania
- Palliative Care Tasmania
- Shelter Tasmania
- Tasmanian Association of State School Organisations (TASSO)
- Tasmanian Council of Social Service (TasCOSS)
- Tasmanian Family and Sexual Violence Alliance (TFSVA)
- Volunteering Tasmania
- Youth Network of Tasmania