PM told to reinstate funding for Booyah

LABOR’S federal Crime and Justice Taskforce has piled pressure on the Turnbull Government to stump up funding for a highly successful youth intervention program.

Project Booyah, an early intervention program aimed at helping at- risk youths either return to school or transition into study and work instead of lives of crime, had a $ 700,000 Federal Government grant expire on June 30.

The grant funded vital youth workers who helped participants transition from the program into work and education.

Project Booyah Townsville was recognised as the state’s best and as of the end of last year had reduced criminal offending rates of participants 95 to 98 per cent.

Herbert MP Cathy O’Toole said the dry- up of funding for such a successful program was “absolutely outrageous”.

“When you look at the outcomes and the success rate of this project, it is a no- brainer that you would continue to fund it, so that’s a big disappointment,” she said.

She said the project was worthy of funding and with youth unemployment above 20 per cent in Townsville the work of Project Booyah was vital.

Labor’s justice spokeswoman Clare O’Neil called on Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to visit Townsville and see the program for itself.

“Why would we break something that’s working so well for this community?” she said.

Townsville- based Liberal Senator Ian Macdonald told the Townsville Bulletin in lateJune he was yet to see a business case to extend Project Booyah funding, but he would support a strong case for anything that benefited northern communities.