To The People Who Need It Least

Indigenous violence 'ignored' in cities

Posted Wed May 13, 2009 6:42pm AEST

The Federal Government is being urged to fund family violence prevention programs in major cities, not just remote areas.

The federal Budget allocated $5.5 million for a task force to address violence and child abuse in remote Aboriginal communities.

The CEO of the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement in South Australia, Neil Gillespie, says it is a good start, but funding should be increased for the urban areas where most Aboriginal people live.

"We find it extraordinary that there is a concentration of family violence only in regional and remote centres - family violence happens in Adelaide, it happens in Melbourne, in Sydney," he said.

"I would suggest that the Commonwealth Government should be increasing the funding for these centres as well as the regional centres."