Winter Appeal Thank You
I am writing to express my sincere appreciation to everyone in Queensland who gave generously to The Smith Family’s 2017 Winter Appeal.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This year we had exceptional support from the Australian public, raising over $4.6 million nationally to help thousands of disadvantaged children across the country with their education.
For the 1.1 million young Australians living below the poverty line, staying engaged at school and keeping up with their peers can be extremely challenging.
Without educational support and extra resources, they may never reach their potential and are more likely to experience hardship as adults.
Funds raised from our Winter Appeal will help nearly 11,000 disadvantaged Australian children with the extra learning support they need, through our reading programs, after-school Learning Clubs and the iTrackonline mentoring program.
It is heartening that this cause has resonated with so many people who gave to our Appeal, which not only helps the children who access our programs but their families and communities.
I would like to thank each and every individual who made a donation.
Your help will have a direct, lasting impact on disadvantaged children here in Australia, giving them the best chance possible to break the cycle of poverty and create a better future for themselves.
Alan Le May
General Manager
The Smith Family (Queensland)
Child abuse on the rise
Queensland’s child safety system continues to buckle under Labor’s watch, as reports of suspected abuse rose by more than 9,000 cases over the past 12 months.
Child safety investigators were still struggling with 13,035 investigations not starting on time - up 11 per cent compared to the same time last year.
More than 6,000 children were found to have been abused in the past 12 months, which is up three per cent on the previous year.
In the past 12 months, around 10,000 cases dragged on for months before they were finalised, a jump of 23 per cent on the previous 12 months.
We have lost 1467 carers from the system under Labor’s watch in just the last year.
More than 400 children were kicked out of the system as teenagers with no planning or support.
And there were 161 reports of harm to children while under the care of the Department.
Most concerning is that we have seen a record number of cases taking longer than two months to finalise, which just shows that Shannon Fentiman is unable to protect Queensland children.
Annastacia Palaszczuk needs to step in and fix this mess once and for all.
Ros Bates
LNP Shadow Minister for Child Safety
Hanson is vile and hateful
Senator Pauline Hanson has suggested autistic children should be put in separate classes so "normal" children don't get held back.
I have a much loved, intelligent, funny, talented son that fits in the Autism Spectrum.
I love him to bits of course, as does his mother.
Then we have Hanson. This vile, hateful, ignorant, venal, divisive, moronic, opportunistically evil woman has just got a pay increase way above the CPI.
The woman is incapable of putting a simple English sentence together, but votes for stupid laws that punish migrants that might wish to learn English.
This woman and her moronic cohorts should be ejected from any parliament that respects logic, decency, intelligence and science.
George Harley, Mount Isa