The Minns Government Strengthens its Commitment to Moree
NSW Premier Chris Minns along with Minister for Youth Justice Jihad Dib were in Moree today to announce more than $2 million in additional funding will help tackle offending and support young people.
Mayor Susannah Pearse and Deputy Mayor Wayne Tighe met with the Premier and Minister before the announcement regarding the extra investment which will further boost youth engagement, with a focus on reducing crime, improving family safety and supporting early childhood development.
“The Deputy Mayor and I are grateful to the Premier and Minister Dib for their time today and their ongoing interest and investment in our community. Crime continues to be a major issue in our shire and everyone acknowledged that our community deserves better. The revolving door of offending and reoffending needs to cease.
“Our community deserves to feel and be safe in their homes,” said Mayor Pearse.
“We are fortunate that the Premier has made our community a personal focus and welcome his announcement of a 4-year commitment to Moree, appointment of providers for the bail accommodation facility, and a review of relevant legislation. This is all important work which we hope will see our crime issues improve and better outcomes for vulnerable youth in our shire,” commented Deputy Mayor Wayne Tighe.
“The community of the Moree Plains Shire wants to see further reforms to our sentencing and bail legislation and are expecting more actions from the state government as the Inquiry into Community Safety in Regional and Rural Communities hands down its recommendations later this year,” said Mayor Pearse.
“Today’s announcement is another step towards a safer community. There is still much to be done and Council will continue our role in advocating for our community’s demands.”
The additional funds will flow over four years from July and reinforces the Minns Government commitment to working with our community and leveraging local strengths to maximise positive outcomes.
This builds on the NSW Government’s initial $13.4 million targeted response for Moree.
The funding injection comes as the NSW Government marks two important steps in the delivery of a new youth bail accommodation centre and after-hours patrols.
This short-term accommodation centre will provide police and courts with more options to put a young person under supervision.
The facility will also give authorities higher confidence that young people released on bail will not reoffend while their proceedings are underway.
A consortium of three local Aboriginal organisations will deliver the new centre. The alliance consists of Miyay Birray Youth Service, Pius X Aboriginal Medical Service, along with SHAE Academy.
The service will improve opportunities to divert young people away from the justice system and provide culturally appropriate support services.
While the bail accommodation centre is expected to open later this year, Youth Justice NSW is also boosting resources in Moree by establishing additional temporary caseworker roles to supervise young people on bail.
Image - Mayor Susannah Pearse, NSW Premier Chris Minns, Deputy Mayor Wayne Tighe and Minister Jihad Dib.