Army Cadets Funding Costs to Hit Bradfield Hard

‘Gillard Labor Government cuts to funding for Army Cadets will affect cadets at 226 ACU Normanhurst, Barker College Cadet Unit and Knox Grammar School ACU’, Member for Bradfield Paul Fletcher said today.

With over 1,000 cadets across these three units, Bradfield has a very large share of the 14,000 cadets around Australia - and so the cuts will hit Bradfield hard.  Students from a number of schools are involved in these three units: for example the Normanhurst unit includes students from Turramurra High School, St Leo’s Wahroonga and other schools and the Knox Cadet Unit includes girls from Ravenswood as well as boys from Knox. 

‘The Gillard Labor Government’s decision to reduce the Cadet Forces Allowance for staff from 48 days per year to just 33.5 days represents a 30 per cent cut,’ Mr Fletcher said.

‘Fewer staff means fewer opportunities for cadets to parade, to attend camps and to attend leadership development courses that teach them not only about the military but also about being responsible citizens.

‘Cadet staff have a wonderful ethos and happily volunteer much of their time. Unfortunately, these cuts will de-value their important role in educating and enriching the lives of young cadets.’

Mr Fletcher said the Gillard Labor Government had chosen to sneakily push through the cuts at a departmental level, thereby avoiding parliamentary scrutiny.

‘An internal Department of Defence memo makes clear that Australian Army Cadet staff will have a reduced timeframe to submit pay claims; and that all international, regional and local activities, conferences and camps for cadets will be cut, along with access to ration packs for camps’, Mr Fletcher said.

‘The issues were first raised with me by Jack Dalton, a Turramurra High student who is a cadet from the 226 ACU Normanhurst Unit.  Jack wrote to me with his concerns that “If these budget cuts go ahead, Cadets around Australia will face cuts to their activities like live shooting and general training”.

‘Talking to local cadet unit leaders, I have heard about the practical difficulties these cuts will cause, including reduced financial support for cadet camps (meaning parents will have to pay more), and many fewer places on adventure training courses.

‘Unlike the Gillard Labor Government, the Coalition is committed to properly resourcing Defence, supporting our Defence personnel and our cadets’, Mr Fletcher concluded.