From the press room
Dunne: survival of health camps essential – 2008-10-17
UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne has accused the Ministry of Social Development of 'dropping the ball' over funding for the nation's children's health camps.
"These camps play a vital role in helping our more disadvantaged youth and the prospect of their closing because of a tight-fisted Government is just not on," he said.
"I was involved in securing continued funding for the camps back in 2004. It was agreed then that there would be a sustainable path developed for funding the camps but the Ministry of Social Development seems to have spent the money elsewhere and completely dropped the ball on this issue.
"I wrote to the Minister of Social Development, Ruth Dyson, last week about health camps' funding and received a thoroughly unsatisfactory, bland answer.
"These camps must not close – their work is too valuable to New Zealand," said Mr Dunne.