General News
7 October, 2025
Emergency funding for Wimmera slashed
Despite ongoing advocacy, recent federal funding cuts to charities in the Wimmera Mallee region of Western Victoria have highlighted a bias in national welfare decisions, leaving rural Australians at a disadvantage.
It is a devastating blow to the Christian Emergency Food Centre, which applies independently to the Department of Social Services for funding.
The CEFC is the only organisation specifically providing food relief across the Wimmera Mallee region through the Federal Government’s Financial Wellbeing and Capability Activity Grant Opportunities program.
Without that funding, they may be forced to rethink how they serve their communities.
Last year, the CEFC received more than $80,000 from DSS, so this recent news will place additional hardship not only on community members in need but the more than 70 volunteers who manage the organisation.
The CEFC was notified by letter that they were not successful, but with little to no clarification.
"In July, the government announced a 25 per cent boost in food relief and financial wellbeing to ease the cost of living pressures for half a million Australians," Ms Miatke said.
"Where is it?"
The Minister for the Department of Social Services, Tanya Plibersek, said when making the announcement, the government would double funding specifically for food.
"We were given no indication that we would not be funded, nor were we given reasons why we were unsuccessful this year," she said.
"Other organisations in the Wimmera received funding, but they are not food specific and send most of their clients to the CEFC for food, so where does that leave the most needy in our community?
"It leaves them with nowhere to go.We are reimbursed through Uniting for the assistance we give clients referred to us by the other organisations, so our loss is more than the initial $80,000 plus."
Ms Miatke said she believed there is a lack of understanding about rural communities by the people making the decisions.
"They don't realise that rural communities depend on the minimal number of services available to them.
"The cost of fuel prevents them travelling an hour to Ararat or four hours to Mildura to the nearest funded centres for basic food supplies, and that's only those who have a vehicle because many don't."
The CEFC provides a service to the wider Wimmera Mallee region from Warracknabeal to Edenhope and beyond.
Minister Plibersek said, when announcing the increased food funding in July, that no Australians should face the choice of putting food on the table or paying their bills.
It is this statement that mystifies Ms Miatke.
"That is the decision most of our clients face every day," she said.
"And that is why the service CEFC provides is vital.”
However, Ms Miatke said she and the volunteers at CEFC will face this challenge with excitement.
"As Christians, we have faith that God wants his people to be cared for, and our clients are God's people, so we will continue to provide for them as well as we can while we look forward with excitement to what He will do," she said.
"There have been times when we have given someone the last item of food we have, and our shelves are bare, and in through the door comes a farmer with a box of egg cartons full of fresh farm eggs.
"This is a kind, generous community."
The current ER funding contracts are in place until September 30, 2025.
The five-year funding model means the two charities will not be funded for the next five years, with no guarantee their applications will be successful for the following five years.
The Department of Social Services spokesperson said that the grants process was an open, competitive round that was highly oversubscribed, but did not clarify why the two Wimmera Mallee charities missed out.