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Member for Reynell, Gay Thompson, made a successful move in the House of Assembly to commend the South Australian Government's support of Young Media Australia after being refused Federal funding.
What is Young Media Australia (YMA)?
Young Media Australia's board of directors includes representatives of Early Childhood Australia.
In her speech to the House of Assembly, Ms Thompson spoke about the role of Young Media Australia:
- covers issues such as childhood obesity and the advertising of food
- provides assistance on what to do when your child is frightened by a scary movie
- runs a website which provides comprehensive and up-to-date information relating to children and the media
- translates information that comes to the YMA into practical, concise and relevant topics for parents and caregivers
- runs a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week national freecall service for parents and caregivers to discuss media issues in respect of children
- produces Small Screen, a monthly news digest of most recent developments in the field of children and the media.
Young Media Australia calls on the government to recommence federal funding
Young Media Australia is seeking federal funding in order to expand one of its most important services: content-based descriptions and reviews of movies from a child's point of view, particularly focusing on material that a young child may find frightening.
With the recommencement of federal funding, this service could also be expanded to cover television programs and computer games.
History of funding
The Young Media Australia helpline and website was originally established in 2002 through a $207,000 grant provided by the Department of Family and Community Services. Since then, the federal government has only contributed $2500, in November 2005.
Aside from membership revenues, YMA has survived through an operational grants provided by the Premier of South Australia. Recently, the South Australian Attorney-General provided $33,000 for the film review project 'Know Before You Go'.
Request for federal support
Since January 2002, the group has made about 15 unsuccessful applications for funding to the federal government. As Ms Thompson concluded in her speech to the House:
'Something has changed since 2002. It is not Young Media Australia. There has been great continuity in the membership of the board of directors. There has been some changeover, but the general mission, philosophy and performance of Young Media Australia has continued to live up to its high reputation.
...
'This organisation deserves national support, and it is a disgrace that the federal government continues to legislate instead of supporting our parents.'
Further information
The full excerpt from Gay Thompson's movement to the House of Assembly is available here (PDF).
For more information, visit the Young Media Australia website.
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