Libs listen to trials of life

By Melissa Meehan
THE NEED of tertiary education options, community funding and child services were on the agenda at a family forum held on Tuesday at the Cardinia Cultural Centre.
Members of the community were invited to have their say at the forum held by local Liberal candidate Brad Battin and Eastern Victoria Region MP Edward O’Donohue about how family life could be better in Cardinia.
Pakenham U3A’s Ron Topp said that without funding, services like the U3A were limited in what they could offer the community.
“We are a total volunteer organisation – we work five days a week without pay,” he said.
“But we are often taking up the slack of the culturally diverse that have higher needs than some others – in Pakenham we have a Brazilian and Sudanese population, and without funding it’s difficult to provide them with what they need.”
Pakenham’s Bev Hind highlighted the need to provide disabled people with more opportunities to stay in their own homes rather than moving into care.
All opinions were taken into consideration with members of the Opposition noting all issues raised.