Rudd backflip

By Tania Martin
FERNLEA House has been thrown a lifeline following a Federal Government back-flip.
The Emerald palliative care service was set to shut its doors last week but at the 11th hour the government came through with the cash it needed to stay open.
The Mail last week reported last week that Fernlea House had become the latest victim of the Rudd Government’s budget razor gang.
Guests and volunteers were devastated that after just two years of operation, the respite centre faced having to close its doors after the federal government decided not to extend its funding.
Fernlea House’s fundraising brings in $100,000 each year towards building costs and needs a further $350,000 to cover salaries and operating costs.
In May 2005 La Trobe MP Jason Wood brokered an $800,000 three-year funding deal for Fernlea.
In addition, a further $170,000 was announced in May last year, bringing the funding up to almost $1 million.
Despite appeals for the funding to be extended the new Labor Government refused.
However, following intense media coverage of the closure, Minister for Health and Aging Justine Elliott has made an executive decision to reinstate funding for the next 12 months.
Fernlea House president Ann Davis was left speechless at the decision.
Ms Davis said it was like living a dream because the government had been insistent that it would not fund the centre.
She said media publicity had worked its magic on the government.
Ms Davis said Fernlea House had pulled an impossible rabbit out of a hat.
“I can only imagine that all the pressure made the minister revisit the issue,” Ms Davis said.
“I believe she may have signed off on something that she didn’t understand or read.”
Mr Wood said that the original decision had shown contempt for terminally ill people and was heartless.
He said the new cash was only a reprieve for Fernlea and that the community needed to unite to obtain a long-term funding commitment.
Mr Wood said it was also disgusting that the government had taken so long to make its decision.
“They knew they would not be renewing funding in January but waited until the release of the budget before announcing it,” he said.
“If it wasn’t for the public outrage they wouldn’t have buckled one bit.”
Ms Davis said Fernlea would now regroup and look at ways to move forward into the future without relying on government funding.
“We need to look at ways we can become self-funded which we would have been doing if we got the news in January instead of six weeks before closure,” she said.
The Mail contacted the Minister for Health and Aging but was unable to get a comment before going to print.
A special general meeting for Fernlea members to discuss future options will be held on 3 June at Monbulk Senior Citizens Club in Moores Road at 7.30pm.