LOTTERYWEST COVID-19 RELIEF FUND
218. Ms K.E. GIDDENS to the Premier:
I refer to the outstanding work of
Lotterywest in supporting the Western Australian community, including groups and organisations in my electorate. Can the
Premier update the house on how the Lotterywest COVID-19 relief fund has supported those Western Australians who have
faced hardship during the pandemic, as well as those community groups
and organisations who have been impacted by COVID-19 health restrictions?
Mr M.
McGOWAN replied:
I thank the member for Bateman for
the question. I acknowledge that Lotterywest has done a terrific job over the last 18 months as we have dealt with COVID-19.
That organisation, as the member knows, has been around for many
decades. At the height of COVID, perhaps a few weeks after the initial
outbreaks, I met with the board and we discussed options by which Lotterywest
could reorientate its activities towards helping those people most in need and most impacted by COVID. The board, the CEO and
the organisation stepped up and established the $159 million COVID-19
relief fund to support those most impacted. These were people who needed
additional emergency and food support; organisations that needed assistance to
deliver community services; people in the arts; and those organisations
affected by the cancellation of events. It basically reorientated its
activities towards those.
So far, Lotterywest has provided
$128 million in grants towards supporting the vulnerable and supporting longer
term recovery and building stronger communities, particularly amongst
disadvantaged groups. About one-third of the funding has gone towards the arts
and culture sector, which was dramatically impacted by COVID-19. A lot of that has gone towards covering costs or lost
income as a result of cancelled events. Organisations that have received
the benefits of some of these grants include Lifeline Australia; the Disability
Health Network; a range of arts and culture organisations; and financial
counselling—the list goes on.
That is why, because such an
outstanding job has been done, I want to thank Lotterywest's
outstanding CEO, Susan Hunt, and the chair
of the board, Peter Klinken, who is also the Chief Scientist of Western Australia.
These are dedicated people who are
committed to the job they do, supporting the community of Western Australia,
particularly over the course of the last 18 months.
I just want to say this: I answer
many questions from the upper house, and there is an unrelenting attack by Hon Peter Collier on Lotterywest. It is
unrelenting; one after another, he asks questions impugning the integrity of
the CEO and board of Lotterywest. It is bordering on hounding and harassment of
Lotterywest by Mr Collier, and it has to stop. It is affecting the
organisation.
He is doing this because Lotterywest
decided not to provide a grant to an organisation that he supports. Many
organisations do not receive grants, for various reasons. Lotterywest has
guidelines that it adheres to in relation to the grants that it provides.
Normally, every organisation that does not receive a grant accepts that that is
the normal order of things, but unfortunately during this very difficult period
in which Lotterywest has stepped up, Mr Collier has been unrelenting in his
harassment of the organisation.
On Thursday 3 June, he told the
Legislative Council —
The final thing —
A member —
� said was that this bashing of Lotterywest
has to stop. It will not stop.
In
other words, he is saying that he is bashing Lotterywest and bullying that
organisation. I just want to say: he may be unhappy with the grant decision made by the board and the organisation
itself, but its role is to make those decisions. Lotterywest does a great job
supporting our community—in particular those in regional WA and those
in need. The staff do a good job and do not deserve this sort of conduct
from senior Liberal Party members in this Parliament.