Bubup Wilam Aboriginal Child and Family Centre in Thomastown faces a fight for its life after the federal budget cut funding to the national partnership agreement on indigenous early childhood development.
According to chief executive, Lisa Thorpe, the centre has been “cut off at the knees”.
“They’ve taken early-years education off the agenda,” she said. “Early years is exactly where investment needs to go.”
Ms Thorpe said she had been told there would be a voucher system introduced so indigenous families could access mainstream early-learning services, a move she said was akin to a “takeover” of Aboriginal affairs by non-Aboriginal people.
“It’s insidious,” Ms Thorpe said. “We’ve got to work out how we sustain ourselves for the future.”
She said help would be quickly forthcoming through the strength of the centre’s connections with Whittlesea council and communities.
“They’ll find it hard to touch Bubup,” Ms Thorpe said.
“The strongest thing we have is our partnerships with the local council and people. This will see us through, we hope.”
She said the centre had enough funding to continue for the next six to 12 months.
Championing the case of Bubup Wilam, Scullin’s Labor MP Andrew Giles has written to state and federal ministers for Aboriginal affairs asking to meet them to urge ongoing funding.
Melbourne’s north has the second-largest community of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in metropolitan Melbourne, one that is growing. Mill Park has one of the largest communities, followed by Whittlesea, Epping, Mernda, Bundoora and Lalor.
