GRANDPARENTS Rearing Grandchildren has been given a reprieve with the Joondalup council unanimously voting to help with some of its hire costs.

The not-for-profit group, which currently helps 102 grandparents and 112 grandchildren, had previously utilised a small office space within Mildenhall under a licence agreement.

However, this year had not booked any City facilities, preferring to use their members’ private residences to meet.

The City has since identified they could relocate to the Grove Child Care facility in Warwick, which is currently vacant, but according to a council report, they are not in a financial position to afford the hire costs.

As a charitable organisation, they are eligible for up to 10 hours of 100 per cent subsidised facility use per week, which would be $7202.

However because the group averages 30 hours per week, they applied for an additional subsidy of 20 hours per week, which would be another $14,238.

According to a council report, “the club meets the eligibility criteria” and so City officers recommended to waive the hire fees for the group to use the Grove Child Care facility in 2020.

As per the City’s policy, a new application needs to be made each year.

According to a council report, the cost to the City across all levels of subsidised facility use is about $1.3 million.

In 2019, the council approved $112,047 of additional subsidies and waivers of fees, and so far this year has approved $40,389.

This includes $24,616 for the Whitford Senior Citizens Club, $6071 for University of the Third Age, $5942 for the Kingsley Seniors Group and $3760 for Greenwood Tennis Club juniors.

Cr John Logan said the group needed as much support as it could get and it was “a small price to pay for the work they do”.

“Without them, we could be paying all sorts of social costs,” he said.

Mayor Albert Jacob agreed, saying the grandparents were “some of the most unsung heroes in the community”.

He also said the Grove Child Care facility was a perfect location for the group, with a playground, fenced area and more room than it had in Mildenhall.

While Cr Christopher May also voted in support, he said going forward he would be “a lot more stringent” on the waiving of fees given the current financial environment.

DISADVANTAGED young people in Perth’s north can soon benefit from a program to help get their driver’s licence.

The Regional Youth Driver Education (RYDE) program helps financially and socially disadvantaged learner drivers to undertake 50 hours of supervised driving with a trained volunteer mentor.

It is aimed at 17 to 25 year olds, providing a suitable vehicle and qualified mentor at $15 for a 90-minute session, compared to a private driving lesson that costs on average $60 for 45 minutes.

Participants, who will mostly be referred by youth support agencies, must live in the north metro region and have already completed at least five formal driving lessons.

The idea for the City of Joondalup to introduce the RYDE program was first raised by Cr John Logan in 2018, with councillors unanimously supporting its implementation subject to a vehicle being donated.

City of Joondalup seeking car donation for Regional Youth Driver Education program

However, at a council briefing, planning and community development director Dale Page said the City had approached “numerous organisations” but none were able to help provide a car.

Since then, the City has received a $7500 Federal grant, which is only available until the end of the year and contingent on the balance of the cost being provided.

Therefore the balance of $15,000 was listed in the 2020-2021 budget for set-up costs including buying an automatic car, fitting it with dual pedals, registration and insurance.

Cr Logan acknowledged that “most businesses have been struggling for some time” and even more so now because of COVID-19, meaning “sponsorship dollars are few and far between”.

He said the City could still benefit from providing the vehicle with the opportunity to use it for mobile advertising.

It is estimated the program would have an annual operating cost of $6000, with the potential to generate some revenue if there is a good take-up, and the City is expected to partner with the Joondalup Volunteer Resource Centre to recruit mentors.

“RYDE gives young people desperately needing a driver’s licence for employment, job programs and education opportunities the chance to be mentored by trained, enthusiastic volunteers who have had years of valuable driving experience,” Cr Logan said.

Youth Futures chief executive Mark Waite also gave his support at the council meeting.

“The return on our social investment in youth will far outweigh the investment made at any other time in a person’s life,” he said.

Mayor Albert Jacob said youth unemployment was at alarming levels, especially among young people who found it difficult to get their 50 hours of driving experience.

“They may find it difficult to access a suitable driving supervisor, family support or a suitable vehicle,” he said.

“It is not a statutory requirement that local government provide driver education programs but, as the tier of government that most closely affects the daily lives of citizens, local government is well placed to coordinate a response to this identified local community need.”

However, Cr Russell Poliwka said he could not support the City being involved in the control and management of the program or adding to the City’s operating costs.

“Others can do it better than us. It is not our core business,” he said.

He also asked what the impact would be on local small businesses.

Ms Page said it was “a different market” with the program “not aimed at youths who have the means to engage a private driving instructor”.

Cr Christopher May said he also was not supportive of the City funding the program and believed the State Government should “come to the table” to fund something that “falls in their area of responsibility”.

Cr Tom McLean said while he would also prefer funding from the State of Federal governments, they had “not put their hands up”.

“It is petty thinking to think we can’t or shouldn’t do this. If we don’t, who will,” he said.

Cr Suzanne Thompson also believed the program was “not a space we should be in” and she was “not convinced ratepayers want to spend on this”, while Cr John Raftis said he would rather see the City help a local business such as a struggling driving school by subsidising lessons for at risk youths.

Cr Russ Fishwick said the City had more than 14,000 residents aged 18 to 24, which was close to 10 per cent of the population, and 52 per cent of young people found it hard to get their driver’s licence.

He said local government needed to be “at the forefront of assisting its community”.

“A local government that only provides the core functions of the three Rs – roads, rates and rubbish – would be considered as being dinosaurs by its community,” he said.

Implementing the program was approved 8-5 with Crs Poliwka, May, Thompson, Raftis and Nige Jones against.

The RYDE program was developed by the Town of Bassendean, with numbers increasing so much so a second vehicle has been acquired.

It has also been successfully implemented in Cockburn, Mandurah, the south-west and the Pilbara.