Sweeteners announced
THE major parties were making it rain last week, with sweeteners aimed at Jewish voters coming thick and fast.
With the November 29 Victorian state election looming, the Jewish Holocaust Centre (JHC), Jewish schools and the United Jewish Education Board (UJEB), were all being buttered up by some of the state’s most senior pollies.
At the JHC, Planning Minister Matthew Guy and member for Prahran Clem Newton-Brown joined Caulfield incumbent David Southwick to announce a $500,000 commitment to the centre’s redevelopment, while across Caulfield at Beth Rivkah Ladies College Deputy Leader of the Opposition James Merlino, along with Labor’s man in Caulfield Josh Burns, announced a $600,000 school security fillip. Southwick also promised $300,000 over five years to UJEB for its religious instruction program.
“The Jewish Holocaust Centre is a special place of memories and learning. Its programs and exhibitions are a tribute to the survivors and volunteers who have contributed to its development,” Southwick said at the JHC.
“I have had the opportunity to host a number of groups of many of my parliamentary colleagues at the Centre to visit and learn first-hand from the moving stories of Holocaust survivors,” he added.
“The Napthine government understands that it is essential that we provide support to the Jewish Holocaust Centre to ensure more people are able to experience the lessons learnt from such a tragic time.”
Merlino announced a $600,000 increase to schools at risk of harassment or violent attacks. The money will be spent on the development and implementation of schools’ emergency management plans in an effort to help them be prepared for incidents resulting from racial or religious intolerance.
“Local schools and the community have worked hard to get this off the ground and I’m proud that Labor is taking action,” Burns, a graduate of Mount Scopus Memorial College, said.
“The security measures will keep students safe, but schools will also make sure they don’t intrude upon the day-to-day lives of our kids,” he added.
Merlino said, “Victoria is the birthplace of multiculturalism, and bigotry has no place at our school gates.”
According to Southwick, his party’s pledge to support UJEB showed the coalition was “was committed to supporting the Special Religious Instruction program, and understands how important these classes and values are for many Victorian families.
ADAM KAMIEN
From left: Nechama Bendet, Sam Tatarka, Marlo Newton, David Southwick, Mattew Guy, Alan Goldstone, Clem Newton-Brown. Photo: Peter Haskin
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