Funding cuts to Villamanta throw Victorians with disability on scrap heap

Brenden Grull, Socialist Alliance spokesperson and candidate for Geelong, has called for funding cuts to Villamanta, Geelong’s Disability Rights Legal Service, to be reversed.

The community-based service, which is housed in Geelong West but works across Victoria, fights for the rights of people with disability-related justice issues. It has been operating since 1990.

The Department of Health and Ageing said on November 10 that it would be cutting approximately 30% of Villamanta’s total funding and around 50% of its core funding.

“It is almost unbelievable that as the demand for disability advocacy increases and in defiance of the Disability Royal Commission’s recommendations to recognise independent advocacy as a vital safeguard for people with disability that Villamanta’s funds are being cut so significantly,” Grull told Green Left.

“I understand that the decision will have an immediate impact; it will lead to substantial job losses. I presume that this is part of the federal government’s cuts to NDIS services.

“It is particularly shocking when independent reviews have recognised that Villamanta is a leader in best-practice disability advocacy and community legal support.”

Grull said the cuts will “only cause more pain and suffering for clients and workers”. He said as cost of living pressures rise for everyone, these cuts show federal Labor’s “diminishing commitment” to community-based organisations.

“Labor’s preference is for dodgy providers from the private sector.”

Grull said Socialist Alliance backs Villamanta’s campaign to get the funding cuts reversed and to protect access to independent disability advocacy.

“We support the reintroduction of publicly-funded disability services to fix gaps in the National Disability Insurance Scheme. Villamanta has our 100% support and we will be doing everything in our power to help restore its funding.”