TAC cash snub blow

By Sarah Schwager
A DRIVER education program to help solve road issues with the Sudanese community in Dandenong has been hindered after funding from the Transport Accident Commission was denied.
Dandenong’s Migrant Resource Centre director Jenny Semple said the MRC had written to the TAC for funding for the program but they had refused, saying VicRoads had no available funding.
“Everyone supports it and sees it as a need but no one is willing to put the money in,” Ms Semple said.
“This program benefits the whole community, not just the Sudanese, in terms of reducing danger on the roads.”
She said the program was a community development project to be run over three years and aimed to improve the driving skills of the Sudanese community and their knowledge of the road rules in Australia.
“They don’t understand if they break laws what happens.”
Ms Semple said the project would also incorporate a community development worker that would encourage people to come in to the centre and provide a link with the community.
“Through the three-year program, it could lead to other programs to improve relationships between the Sudanese community and the police.”
Ms Semple said the program would most likely target men more than women because they tended to have their driver’s licence and could provide other links, such as to men’s groups.
“There are other things that can come out of it.”
She said the program would be run in conjunction with the police.
“The police are in touch with what’s going on,” she said.
Senior Constable James Waterson from the Multicultural Advisory Committee at Dandenong Police said the initial submission, made by the MRC, had police support.
Sen Const Waterson said the program was still an idea at this stage and they would need to sit down with the MRC and discuss how it was going to work.
He said a program for school students on how to obtain their L-plates had been successful and he believed this followed on from that.
He said the committee was happy to write a letter of support to the MRC.
TAC spokeswoman Georgina Lyell said the TAC did not fund isolated programs of this nature.
“What we did offer was to work with the local RoadSafe group in order to develop some appropriate materials to tackle the problem,” she said.
“We have certainly left the door open for further conversation around that.”
Ms Lyell said that unless the program was replicated across the state, the TAC would not be able to be involved.