Support petition to save the Aboriginal Legal Service from funding cuts

5 March, 2015

5 March 2015

Support petition to save the Aboriginal Legal Service from funding cuts

The Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT has initiated an on-line petition to the Prime Minister requesting the reverse Federal Budget cuts that amount to almost 20 percent of the organisation's annual budget.

NSWALC is extremely concerned about the impact of these Budget cuts on the not-for-profit's ability to deliver essential front-line services in New South Wales.

Today, more children are being removed from their parents than during the Stolen Generation with more than 15,000 Aboriginal children in out-of-home care.

The Aboriginal Legal Service is at the front-line of efforts to keep our children safe and to break a tragic cycle that too often sees kids ending up in the juvenile justice system and on to adult prisons.

This is clearly unacceptable and governments must work with Aboriginal organisations to put our kids on a positive pathway.

Closing the Gap requires more than political goodwill - it must be backed with the appropriate resources.

The NSW Aboriginal Land Council urges the Prime Minister to take into account the devastating impact of these budget cuts and reconsider the Government's decision to cut funding to essential front-line services that are desperately needed to protect our children.

NSWALC encourages Network members to sign the petition at

https://www.change.org/p/prime-minister-of-australia-save-the-als-to-stop-more-kids-being-taken-away-and-ending-up-in-jail