MEDIA RELEASE

Thursday 5 February 2004

Latham Attack on Youth Centres Unjustified

The Youth Affairs Council of Victoria today criticized Mark Latham’s attack on youth centres as out of step, behind the times and completely unjustified.

“Mr Latham’s comments that funding is better spent on libraries than youth drop in centres discredit the enormous amount of good work that youth centres do” said Georgie Ferrari, Executive Officer of the Youth Affairs Council.

“Of course federal funding should be spent on libraries, but why does it have to be an either/or situation?” Ms Ferrari said.

The Youth Affairs Council represents 300 members in Victoria, many of them are youth drop in centres like the ones Mr Latham has targeted.

“These centres provide an opportunity for young people to engage in activities and programs that can have a real impact on their future opportunities” Ms Ferrari said.

Youth centres provide a sense of community for many young people, connecting them with many services and support systems. Community connectedness is shown to be a protective factor in young people’s lives, lessening their involvement in criminal activity, drug misuse and other risk taking behaviour and increasing their chances of staying in school.

Donna, a former Youth Centre client who accessed a drop in centre on a daily basis for six month said “If someone needs help, libraries aren’t the place to go. For me, the drop in centre I went to helped me with my basic needs, I had no food, no money and nowhere to go. I could get a shower and use the Internet there to look for work, but more importantly I had support while I was there. I was at rock bottom and it was the only appropriate place for me to go,” she said.

“Mr Latham’s comments sadly reflect how undervalued and misunderstood youth work is in Australia.” Mr Jamie Crosby, Chairperson of the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition said. The Australian Youth Affairs Coalition is the Federal peak body for youth services in Australia.

Christine Harrison from NEXUS Youth Resource Centre in Horsham, in regional Victoria said, “there is lots of productive work done in youth centres, it is so important to connect with other people and talk about what’s going on. For many young people attending a youth centre is a real self confidence boost and many develop socialisation skills that you can’t learn from a book.”

In smaller communities and isolated areas youth centres are often the focal point for young people. These centres sometimes provide the only opportunity for young people to build their support networks and social skills.

“Youth Centres aren’t just about working with the most disadvantaged young people, all young people can access youth services.” She said.

“Australia has some of the most innovative and professional youth services in the world, Mr Latham’s comments pose a direct threat to the high quality services that young people receive” Mr Crosby said.

The Australian Youth Affairs Coalition would welcome the opportunity to show Mr Latham around a couple of youth centres, anywhere in Australia. “Once he has seen the great work done in these centres, I’d like to hear him justify his comments” Mr Crosby said.

For further comment please contact

Georgie Ferrari
YACVic Executive Officer
Ph: 9612 8922
Mob: 0411 484 428

Jamie Crosby
AYAC Chairperson
Mob: 0418 417 202

Alan Wu
AYAC Young Media Spokesperson
Mob: 0421 068 188