ANDREW GILES MP
SHADOW MINISTER FOR MULTICULTURAL AFFAIRS
SHADOW MINISTER ASSISTING FOR IMMIGRATION AND CITIZENSHIP
MEMBER FOR SCULLIN
MARK DREYFUS QC MP
SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL
MEMBER FOR ISAACS
JULIAN HILL MP
MEMBER FOR BRUCE
PETA MURPHY MP
MEMBER FOR DUNKLEY
ABI KUMAR
LABOR CANDIDATE FOR LA TROBE
CASSANDRA FERNANDO
LABOR CANDIDATE FOR HOLT
An Albanese Labor Government will support the Sikh Volunteers Australia (SVA) to expand their superb community work by funding a new, upgraded Kitchen and Community Centre in Langwarrin.
The $700,000 investment will provide a permanent, large-scale base for the much loved charity in Melbourne’s South-East, allowing SVA to expand the scope and nature of its community services.
Famous for their work helping bushfire survivors during Victoria and NSW’s horrific ‘Black Summer’ fires, SVA runs a twice-weekly ‘Free Food Van’ program in Tooradin and Frankston, delivers meals to vulnerable households upon request and responds on a large-scale to emergency situations, natural disasters, and other shocks.
In the last two years, SVA provided nearly 270,000 meals to families in the South-East of Melbourne impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.
Most recently, SVA travelled 34 hours from Melbourne to the flood affected areas of northern New South Wales, providing thousands of free meals to support flood ravaged communities including Lismore.
Labor’s $700,000 commitment means SVA will be able to expand their community work, delivering a broader range of services including family violence support, mental health support, parenting and youth services and volunteer training – as well as expanding the food program.
These services are sorely needed in the communities of South-East Melbourne which have been ignored by the Morrison Government’s pattern of waste, rorts and broken promises.
The improved facilities in Langwarrin will also function as a cultural hub, providing an excellent location for the Sikh community to gather and celebrate and share cultural and religious festivals with the broader community.
Only a Labor Government will provide SVA with the resources it needs to continue its important work supporting those in need across the South-East of Melbourne, Victoria, and Australia.