Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

School chaplaincy services play an important role for youth in our community, who face increasing pressures on family relationships, peer relationships, bullying, harassment, grief, loss and behaviour issues. If addressed early, preventive measures can be taken to minimise harm and promote good educational outcomes.

In Western Australia, YouthCARE oversees the successful national school chaplaincy program, which was established under the Howard government. I recently met with the CEO, Mr Stanley Jeyaraj, who outlined the proactive work undertaken by the organisation both locally and nationally. YouthCARE school chaplains provide pastoral care in the form of emotional, mental, physical and spiritual support to staff, students and school communities.

In my electorate of Moore YouthCARE supports some 16,821 students in 37 state schools. Of these, 17 schools have federally funded YouthCARE chaplains, while the remaining 20 schools rely on either state government or private sources of funding. Our community has supported YouthCARE through events such as the annual City of Wanneroo charity golf day, which has raised over $445,000 for chaplaincy over a decade. The Wanneroo Business Association has also contributed generously. In order for YouthCARE to continue providing school chaplaincy for 2015 to 2017, it is essential the federal funding be continued in the budget.