E&OE TRANSCRIPT
Topics: Strong and Resilient Communities Grants; Census; Tasmanian e-cigarette reform laws; Peter Dutton’s Tasmania visit
BRIAN MITCHELL, MEMBER FOR LYONS: Welcome to Sorell School, and particularly the Trade Training Centre built by the Gillard government back in the year 2013, I think. I'm Brian Mitchell, the Federal Member for Lyons. We're here today for a terrific announcement about community resilience grants. I'm joined by Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth, Brianna – a student here at the school, Kirsty who runs School Food Matters, and Scott who's the chef here for the program. It's a fantastic announcement. This is all about building resilience for young people and also showing them some pathways. But I'm going to throw to Minister Rishworth.
AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR SOCIAL SERVICES: Thank you. It's really wonderful to join Brian here at Sorell School and it was wonderful to see the School Food Matters program along with chef Scott here at Sorell School in action, where I saw both Brianna and Kristy make some wonderful burrito bowls and I got to eat them as well. I have to say they were really delicious. I am really pleased that today, the Federal Government is announcing 34 organisations will share in money to expand their programs. This is part of the Federal Government's Strong and Resilient Community grants which are aimed to support young people or vulnerable people like women or other people that may be disadvantaged in our community. Actually programs that make a real difference. These programs are really varied as some of them provide support and connection to employment. Others help women experiencing family and domestic violence regain confidence. But here at the Sorell School I'm really pleased to announce that School Food Matters will receive a grant that will enable them to expand and consolidate their wonderful programs to ensure that students get the opportunity to connect with food, where it comes from off the farms here in Tasmania, to actually connect with that food, to turn it into something special, and importantly make connections outside into hospitality or agricultural jobs. So, this is a real pathways opportunity. It's really wonderful to hear Brianna talk about her desire to be a chef and how this program has enabled her to experience some of what it is to be a chef. So, this is a really important program. Another program here in Tasmania that will receive funding is Colony 47. This is a really important project that will be funded to support them connect with young people, particularly those that may have or may come into contact with the criminal justice system. It ensures that they are supported to have a different path, to pick new goals and have support to address any challenges. So, this is real life-changing stuff on the ground, and we're so pleased to be able to support it. As I said 34 organisations across the country will receive funding. I'm really pleased to be here to see the School Food Matters program and really hear about the opportunities that this extra funding will make to really enhance what they're already doing. They will be able to make better connections, get out to the farm, get out to those hospitality industries and support those students in that pathway through. So now I'll hand over to both Kirsty and Scott to add some extra things about what this funding will be and will enable the program to do.
JOURNALIST: Do tell us all about the program and how you guys are going to benefit from this funding?
KIRSTY GRIERSON, SCHOOL FOOD MATTERS EXECUTIVE OFFICER: We're incredibly excited to receive this funding for this project. It really integrates so neatly into the work that we're already doing in schools, and especially in the school lunch program and also in the paddock to plate program that's running here at Sorell. We'll be able to integrate, we've got a food van that we'll be able to really utilise in the commercial kitchen that we can take anywhere. So, we'll be able to take that out to local farms and actually do cooking on site with students. We're really excited about developing a really unique program for regional schools in Tasmania. And, you know, we're really aiming at 12 to 18-year-olds and creating visually, you know, and get them to experience those pathways into hospitality and agriculture.
JOURNALIST: Why 12 to 18? Is it because at that age people will be starting to think about what career path they want to go down?
KIRSTY GRIERSON: Absolutely, and I think as we develop this package and this resource, it will impact our other work in primary schools as well as we develop it. So, it's really, really exciting.
JOURNALIST: And Tassie is obviously known for its produce. Is there a connection there with trying to unleash talent with cooking and utilising Tassie food?
KIRSTY GRIERSON: Absolutely, and our school lunch project. We have a real focus of using local produce and that's one of our guiding principles of that program and so to be able to create those clear relationships between schools and their local producers and farmers is a real opportunity.
JOURNALIST: What's the response been like amongst the students? I know we’ll hear from Brianna in a second, what do they feel like?
KIRSTY GRIERSON: This is a new program so they haven't experienced quite, you know, the model that we're talking about, and so we're really excited about rolling that out. But certainly in what they can experience here at Sorell School, interlinking with all the wonderful work that Scott does, and he can speak about that connection to paddock, farm paddock to plate. It's a real learning experience for them. And Brianna will be able to talk about that too, but Scott can talk on a practical level, being based at the school.
SCOTT HUTCHISON, CHEF/COORDINATOR: In Tassie agriculture and hospitality are some prime industries and it's really important for our kids, especially in the kitchen, to be able to use some of Tassie’s fabulous produce. We have some of the best produce in Australia, so it's fantastic. They can get straight in there and experience it firsthand.
JOURNALIST: And as an educator, how important is it to start encouraging young people to look towards the future?
SCOTT HUTCHISON: Oh, absolutely. Any opportunity they have to get some practical experience in a career that they're looking at is fantastic. Even if they decide not to do it, it’s still a learning experience. So, if they turn it into a lifelong career or just decide it's not for them, both are very valuable for the student.
JOURNALIST: Is being a chef something that you want to look towards in the future?
BRIANNA HAYES, STUDENT: Yeah, for the past few years, I've realised I'd really like to cook, and I've been thinking about maybe later in life I might pursue a job in cooking.
JOURNALIST: So, I guess having a program like this, do you think it will be a great benefit for you?
BRIANNA HAYES: Yeah, I think it really will because Scott is a great teacher when learning how to cook. He teaches many techniques and I've learned a lot about cooking.
JOURNALIST: What are you you're most excited for, other than building your skills, anything else in particular?
BRIANNA HAYES: Mainly hoping to make other people happy with the food I cook. Just hoping I can make delicious meals for others.
JOURNALIST: What types of food do you like to cook?
BRIANNA HAYES: I like to make pork. I can make fried rice, baking, anything. I can really do anything.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Don't forget your great burrito bowl you made for me to eat. You made me very happy with that. Great job.
SCOTT HUTCHISON: I don’t know if you noticed all the dicing she was doing while talking, looking straight ahead and she had perfect knife skills.
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Thanks, Brianna. So, have you got some questions about the program first?
JOURNALIST: Yes, from your perspective, how important is it to start getting people thinking about the future, especially for disadvantaged Tasmanians?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Ensuring that young people, particularly for example, rural and regional young people, get the same opportunities and pathways as others is really important. And I have to say, particularly the fact that we have a situation where School Food Matters will be able to go out onto the farms and to make that connection with the food and then cook it up is really, really exciting. And to make those connections in the agricultural industry and in the hospitality industry breaks down some of that mystery about it. What does that mean? What does that career mean? So, it really does allow young people, particularly in rural regional Tasmania, to explore some different pathways, to see it firsthand and to demystify what these jobs actually are.
JOURNALIST: And do you think programs like this will also go to lengths in helping youth unemployment?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: I think that programs like this firstly help students stay engaged in education and that ultimately leads to a reduction in youth unemployment. We know that a lot of young people do want to work but are not really sure what those pathways are, and it is about engaging people young, and it is about that experimental experience. It's about having a go, touching, feeling, experiencing, and that's what is so wonderful about School Food Matters, but also about this program, it will allow for more opportunity to do that. When it comes to the other programs that are being funded under this, it really is community-up, not top down. And I think that's what's special about the different programs we're funding all around Australia is they're not programs that come up by government. They're programs that the community have designed to meet their local needs. Whether it is young people that have come into connection with the criminal justice system, whether it's young people that may be feeling socially isolated, disengaged, whether it's women that may have left a domestic and family violence situation and haven't rebuilt their confidence. These are all programs that we're funding that really come from community. We're really pleased to be partnering with them.
JOURNALIST: How long will the funding last? And is there any thought to continuing it after that?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: The funding rounds are ongoing funding rounds. The funding usually lasts for two years. Usually, they're one-off grants to get programs up and running, but there are a number of organisations that reapply for taking their program to the next level. So, of course, we continue to open rounds of this Strong and Resilient Community funding, but often it is over a couple of years to get a program up and running.
JOURNALIST: And how were the organisations chosen? I know we've got two in Tassie, but around the country?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Yes, it was a competitive, national process in which organisations were looked at how they met the criteria, which really was ensuring that people from a variety of backgrounds got the opportunity, whether it was for education pathways, whether it was for employment pathways, or whether it was for community connection, the best performing organisations, often with really impressive runs on the board were selected on that basis.
JOURNALIST: And I know this is new funding, but how much of a change is this in terms of the level of funding that's being offered to these types of organisations from the Federal Government?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, look since we've been in government, we've offered over $45 million to the Strong and Resilient Community grants. What's really special about this is that these are grants of, you know, sometimes $350,000 and organisations can do so much with that amount of money. And so, it's really, really special and impressive that the applications, we were, of course, oversubscribed in terms of organisations. But, you know, I think that this funding will be critical to supporting so many people across the community.
JOURNALIST: Just a question about Colony 47. Do you know which project or how exactly that funding is being used?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: That is funding for a specific program that effectively provides, I would describe it as coaching for young people, that will support them to set goals and have someone providing counselling support for any life stresses that come up and really encourage them along the right pathway. So that's the description of the program. That is the type of program, particularly for those that may have had contact with the criminal justice system or have the potential. So, it really is about setting these young people on a different pathway and supporting them to achieve the goals. Because we know that if you're not motivated and you don't have something to strive for, then there is more of a chance of reoffending, for example. So, this is really about supporting those young people choose a different path.
JOURNALIST: Is there any funding going towards homelessness at all? Because, yeah, growing homelessness, youth homelessness here?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: There’s a variety of projects under this funding that support vulnerable, disadvantaged people, but the Federal Government has many other programs, particularly the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement with the states and territories, where we provide funding directly to states and territories around homelessness services. So, with this program, it is really about focused on isolation, disadvantage, connecting up with community, but it's by far not the only type of investment that the Commonwealth is making here in Tasmania and across the country.
JOURNALIST: Just another issue. What do you make of the Prime Minister backflipping on the gender identity question in the census?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: Well, I think the Prime Minister has been pretty clear that the next census is not until 2026. That's a long way away. The point the Prime Minister made this morning is that questions around sexuality and sexual identity need to be straightforward in the census and so we've got some time to work on it. There’s two years until the census will be out for people to answer, but we want to make answering the census as simple as possible, and so, I think what the Prime Minister has outlined is a sensible way forward.
JOURNALIST: And just quickly, do you have any comment on Tasmanian e-cigarette law reforms?
AMANDA RISHWORTH: I don't have any comments on that. I can say that the Commonwealth has taken vaping incredibly seriously. We've put forward some really tough vaping laws, because we know that parents are very worried about this. When I talk to parents in my electorate, but also right across the country, vaping is becoming a problem. Young people are getting addicted, and so the Federal Government has stepped in, obviously, with our strong laws, and we'll support states and territories that complement that with their own local laws.
JOURNALIST: What do you make of Peter Dutton visiting Tasmania?
BRIAN MITCHELL: Well, it's a free country. Look, Peter Dutton has come to Tasmania, but he's got some big questions to answer. In his Budget Reply speech he effectively waged war on renewable energy and as we know, renewable energy is going to be a major gamechanger for Tasmania. We are talking about thousands of jobs and billions of dollars of investment, which will be absolutely at risk under a Peter Dutton Prime Ministership. So that's the big question he needs to answer today - what is he going to do to secure the thousands of jobs, the billions of dollars of investment in renewable energy generation and manufacturing that comes with it under his plans, under his fantasy for a nuclear future. The fact is all the experts agree that nuclear in Australia will take decades to come, if at all, and it will result in power bills that will go absolutely through the roof. So that's what I've got to say to Peter Dutton. In his Budget Reply speech he effectively waged war on renewable energy and that's effectively waging war in Tasmania.