Adam Bandt (Melbourne, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I can't imagine Melbourne without the community organisations that do the hard work of building our community every day. So today I'd like to share with the Australian parliament some good news. I've been delighted to secure grants for many organisations in Melbourne through the Stronger Communities Program. I'd like to inform those here about the work that they're doing in my electorate.

Community houses and neighbourhood learning centres are the glue that hold together our neighbourhoods and communities. Melbourne is home to many wonderful community houses whose staff and volunteers give their time to run programs, classes and social events, and activities that bring people together. They make a huge contribution to Melbourne, so I was delighted to deliver funding through the Stronger Communities Program for some of these great institutions.

The Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre was awarded a grant to repair and paint the fence, upgrade a classroom and other works. Thank you to the team there. Belgium Avenue Neighbourhood House manages the underground car park space at the Collingwood public housing estate. To any Melbourne hipsters who are getting sick of laneways, let me tell you: underground parking lots are the future for community theatre and community festivals. Thanks to a stronger communities grant, Belgium Avenue Neighbourhood House will be installing toilets into that magnificent underground space that has already hosted so many amazing events.

North Melbourne Language and Learning was awarded a grant to build a brand-new covered barbecue area on the North Melbourne estate. This space is up and running and is a great new asset to the North Melbourne community—congratulations to the North Melbourne Language and Learning team. Kensington Neighbourhood House recently used a stronger communities grant that I secured to build a new front deck and ramp that will greatly improve accessibility for people using wheelchairs or pushing prams. Wingate Avenue Community Centre built a new men's shed and completed other works at its Union Road community hub. I'm excited about the new community garden expansion and education materials that will be funded through a grant at Farnham Street Neighbourhood Learning Centre in Flemington.

Community childcare centres are also essential assets for our community. They're often under pressure from booming demand and inadequate federal government support. I was delighted to visit the wonderful Richmond Multicultural Children's Centre at Gleadell Street recently, which has received a grant that I secured for a new front fence. Through this program, I have also secured grants for infrastructure and play equipment at Wimble Street Childcare Co-operative in Parkville, Flemington Childcare Co-operative and TRY Australia Showgrounds Children's Centre in Ascot Vale.

The Collingwood Toy Library is such an amazing community resource. It's been open for 25 years and lends toys to hundreds of local families. I'm delighted that, thanks to a stronger communities grant, the library has been able to expand its selection to include for the first time toys and board games for six- to 12-year-olds. I had great fun visiting and seeing the new selection and the current toys with my daughter who didn't want to leave.

Everyone has a right to access justice, and it's community legal centres that do the vital work that reduce the barriers to justice that so many in our community still face. So I was very pleased to secure grants for office equipment for Inner Melbourne Community Legal, and Fitzroy Legal Service, as part of their move to new offices. The Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention and Legal Service used a grant for structural works as part of its project to establish a first-of-its-kind Koori Women's Hub in Abbotsford. I've visited the hub, and I congratulate the staff, all the volunteers and the team there for the amazing work they're doing.

I am in this place, in large part, because of the importance of tackling climate change and transitioning to renewables. Despite the lack of government leadership at a national level, at the local level communities and community organisations are getting on board with renewables. I'm pleased that, through the Stronger Communities Program, we could secure grants for several organisations in Melbourne so they could install solar panels and implement energy efficiency measures. Grants for solar panels have gone to the 'Wellie,' or Wellington Inc, in Collingwood; the Church of All Nations in Carlton; the Royal Park Tennis Club; and the Abbotsford Convent Foundation. All of these community-run organisations will be able to cut their power bills and cut pollution because of these grants, and that will make them more financially and environmentally sustainable.

Cultural arts and music projects have been supported through the Melbourne Stronger Communities Program grants. SEVENTH gallery on Gertrude Street in Fitzroy conducted renovations with stronger communities grant funding. The Chao Feng Chinese Orchestra performs traditional Chinese orchestral music around Melbourne. They've been running for decades as a volunteer organisation with minimal support and doing it on a shoestring, so a grant that has allowed them to purchase new traditional clothes to replace the ageing ones they were using was very welcome.

3CR is a Melbourne institution. Our airwaves would not be the same without its independent and progressive programming. Before I came to this job, I spent a bit of time there on Saturday mornings co-hosting a legal program myself. I know they do it on a shoestring, so I'm delighted to have secured for them a stronger communities grant for new studio and office equipment. The Boite is a Melbourne institution that has been bringing world music to Melbourne for nearly 40 years. A stronger communities grant has assisted them with communication and office equipment.

Grants have also gone to organisations doing innovative food and sustainability projects. Food waste and access to fresh food for all are big environmental and social justice issues that local community groups are leading the way to address in Melbourne. North West    Patch is a grassroots community initiative in north and west Melbourne where volunteers are working to create the neighbourhood's very first community garden. This is particularly important in bringing shared garden space to an area where more and more people are living in apartments or higher density units. I secured a grant for planter beds and equipment, and I'm looking forward to watching this initiative flourish.

Cultivating Community does great work to support residents in accessing community gardens at public estates and elsewhere around Melbourne. It received a grant for an upgrade to the community kitchen at Fitzroy's Atherton Gardens estate just down the road from my office. The Community Grocer is making a big contribution to our local community. It operates weekly fresh fruit and vegetable markets at public housing estates around Melbourne, including in Carlton, Fitzroy and Flemington. They sell high-quality produce at affordable prices and their popularity each week is testament to this. I have been there and seen the people who line up from the public housing flats to purchase fresh fruit and vegetables, things they would otherwise be unable to afford. The Community Grocer used the grant to secure refrigeration equipment that allows them to run their programs. Lentil as Anything, a Melbourne institution, is much loved and famous for its unique pay-as-you-feel model. Thanks to a grant I secured, it's getting a face lift. I am pleased to have supported, alongside community members, a renovation of their Abbotsford kitchen. The upgrade will allow Lentil as Anything to continue and expand its training for employment programs for refugees, asylum seekers and jobseekers.

Other organisations, like the Flemington Kensington RSL and Project Respect, have also received grants to renovate their premises. Good Cycles is a fantastic social enterprise that runs not-for-profit bike and training programs. They received a grant for a new training space. This will make a lasting difference. I would like to acknowledge that this was secured through the important work of Matt McCullough, may he rest in peace.

Many organisations do great work strengthening our multicultural community and ensuring that everyone belongs in Melbourne. The Eritrean Jeberti community will be setting up a new community office in North Melbourne to support community members. The Albanian Australian Islamic Society has received a grant for a new community library at its mosque in North Carlton. The Australian Muslim Social Services Agency has built a new community classroom, from which it is running education programs in North Melbourne.

Estate Computers received a grant for equipment to ensure that more people at the Carlton public housing estate can access the NBN through wireless connections. U3A Chinese In Yarra, serving older members of the Chinese community, has also bought new equipment for its community room in Fitzroy. The Greek Orthodox Community of Melbourne and Victoria received a grant to install AV technology in its city community centre, and the magnificent Australian Vietnamese Women's Association used the grant funding for a new cultural mural at its Richmond office. Newmarket Phoenix FC has built a new canteen in Flemington.

Grants also went to SisterWorks, the Somali Women's Development Association, the River Nile Learning Centre, the Social Studio, the Melbourne Employment Forum and iEmpower for jobs and education programs that particularly support people from refugee and migrant backgrounds in Melbourne. I'm proud to have secured grants to make our communities stronger in Melbourne.