Young Aboriginal people living in the Bega Valley will be supported to get their driver licence and be safer drivers through a new grant funded by Aboriginal Affairs NSW.
Young Aboriginal people living in the Bega Valley will be supported to get their driver licence and be safer drivers through a new grant funded by Aboriginal Affairs NSW.
Access to transport continues to be a major issue for people living in the Bega Valley, impacting upon training and employment opportunities.
"This project was developed in response to an identified need in the community," said Leanne Atkinson, CEO of the Bega Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC).
"People living in this community without a driving licence have limited access to training and employment. If someone wants to pursue work in the hospitality sector, for instance, they could not work evenings or weekends if they are dependent upon bus services as those services are not on offer during the evening or on weekends."
Bega LALC is one of almost 80 Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations who will share in more than $15 million of grant funding through the Aboriginal Affairs NSW 2023-2024 Community and Place Grants program.
The Aboriginal Affairs NSW Community and Place Grants Program delivers tangible local benefit and impact to Aboriginal communities against the Closing the Gap socio-economic outcome targets, recognising that Aboriginal communities have the solutions to problems or issues in their community.
This funding will enable Bega LALC to purchase a vehicle and fund a coordinator to establish a learn to drive program for Aboriginal people in the Bega Valley.
They will also run a series of workshops such as 'car maintenance for beginners' and 'how to avoid buying a lemon'. The team will work with other services such as Headspace and Service NSW to provide opportunities for young Aboriginal people to gain their learner driver licence, get their driving hours and to access safer driver programs.
The program will help Close the Gap by supporting Aboriginal people to access employment and training opportunities.
"Access to training outside of the Bega Valley is also difficult as there are very limited transport options between the Bega Valley and TAFE locations such as Moruya or Canberra," said Leanne.
"Health services are also limited if someone has health needs that require a specialist appointment outside of the Bega area they need to drive."
"A licence provides both choice and opportunity that may not be available to people who do not have a licence," said Leanne.
"By gaining a licence our program participants will be more likely to gain employment and to access training when transport would otherwise be a barrier."
