Gambling Community Benefit Fund benefits for Sandgate

MS DARLING ASKED THE MINISTER FOR TOURISM AND FAIR TRADING (MR LAWLOR) —

QUESTION:

Will the Minister outline the benefits of the Gambling Community Benefit Fund for my electorate of Sandgate?

ANSWER:

The Gambling Community Benefit Fund covers the whole of Queensland and is the State’s largest non-recurrent grants program. The fund has assisted thousands of not-for-profit community organisations to provide services and activities for their communities. The fund distributes approximately $37 million annually across the state. Since its inception in 1994 the fund has distributed more than $442 million to over 36,300 community projects. In the electorate of Sandgate, more than $4.4 million has been distributed since inception to over 320 community projects.

The solar sport and community grants are part of a State-wide initiative announced by the Premier to reduce the impacts of climate change and help reduce Queensland‘s carbon footprint. Funding is available for solar hot water and 1.5 kilowatt solar power systems. The solar sport and community grants will help not-for-profit community groups save on their electricity bills; in some cases this saving could be as much as $400 a year. The initiative is a temporary funding priority to distribute up to $3.3 million per year over three years.

The Gambling Community Benefit Fund provides not-for-profit organisations in all Queensland electorates with the opportunity to apply for up to $35,000 for standard applications and more than $35,000 for complex applications. There are four funding rounds each year with more than $36 million distributed in 2009-10.