The NSW government has refuted Gunnedah Shire Council’s claim that it substantially reduced the number of grant recipients for its school holiday program.

Council last year announced that grant recipients for the NSW Government’s Holiday Break Program had been reduced from 700 to just 100.

It was suggested this could be reason why its grant application was unsuccessful.

It also triggered council to consider whether to instead provide its own financial support for upcoming holiday activities.

Council’s recently released Cost Containment and Productivity Report for March listed the $5000 school holiday funding as among the expenses incurred since the election of the current council.

“This was determined necessary due to reduction of funding for school holiday programs by NSW Government,” the report stated.

The NSW Minister for Youth Rose Jackson said any suggestion that funding grants have been scaled back, was not true.

“Grant recipients statewide have not been substantially reduced,” she said.

The Minister highlighted that although the 2024-25 program is supporting 112 organisations, the funding will deliver more than 800 activities across regional NSW.

According to the government, the holiday program provides young people in regional NSW with opportunities to connect, socialise, have fun and learn something new during the school holidays.

It was launched in 2019 in support of regional towns affected by drought and the funding pool was topped up following the COVID-19 pandemic.

When council was advised about its unsuccessful grant application, elected representatives agreed to a $5000 budget for the summer-autumn school holiday period.

This was only half the $10,000 allocation recommended for the program – as councillors looked to offset shire’s dire financial position and proposed special rate variation.

“If we’re looking for efficiencies, this would be one,” Cr McArthur said at the time.

The government was also asked why funding parameters define ‘youth’ as from 12-24 years – a teenage age group which council explained did not necessarily embrace organised activities for which the funding is targeted.

The Minister said the Holiday Break program aligned with the government’s broader youth policy framework, which defined young people as those aged between 12 to 24 years.

“We remain committed to providing meaningful programs that support youth engagement in regional communities,” the Minister said.

To order photos from this page click here