Why do government’s love to cut funding for NGOs?

I left my previous position at FPWA Sexual Health Services due to at 10% funding cut from the Department of Health.

And now the Mental Health Law Centre WA were I work has just received a 22% funding cut from the State Government. This won’t affect my job (my 6 month contract is funded my LotteriesWest), but it will mean a huge downsize is the amount of legal assistance we can provide, and we are already having to turn people away because we are too busy. We are one of two legal services in Australia that specialise in assisting people with mental illness (the other being in Victoria, who are facing closure after similar funding cuts), and we are completely free, and not means tested like other Legal Aid services.

 

So yeah. Spread the word, and make a fuss. Because if we don’t, it is going to be some of Australia’s most marginalised people who will be missing out.