17 January 2014

Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor has reminded communities across Hume that there are less than four weeks to apply for one-off grants for Anzac Centenary projects.

“I am encouraging community groups, councils, schools, local museums or galleries, who have a project in mind for the Anzac Centenary in 2015, to get in contact with my electorate office in Cowra.

“We have received more than a dozen applications and know of several others in the pipeline,” Mr Taylor said.

“There is a Federal Government allocation of $125,000 for projects in each electorate. No projects have yet been approved for Hume, however we are calling for any further ideas to be received to the Hume Cowra Electorate Office by Saturday 15 February. This is the date that has been set by the Hume Committee to allow sufficient time to process applications for recommendation to the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

“There are some fine plans afoot – everything from restoration projects for WWI memorials and gardens, to community events, to commemorative books and CDs. Without giving anything away, the ideas we have seen are imaginative and inspiring,” he said.

Mr Taylor said all applications would be assessed against a set of guidelines: level of community support for the proposal, the connection of the project to significant military anniversaries or First World War events, the ability of the proposal to allow the community to commemorate the WWI centenary, the capability of the applicant to deliver and implement the proposal on time and within budget, as well as value for money and in-kind and/or financial support from other sources.

The Hume Anzac Centenary Grants Committee comprises Mr Barry Murphy (Crookwell), Mr Tim Bennett-Smith (Thirlmere), Mr Gordon Wade (Goulburn), Mr Neil Turner (Yass), Mr Bill Needham (Goulburn), Mr John Glenn (Murrumbateman), Mr Brian Dunn (Harden) - and we pay our respects to the late Ms Trish Cunningham (Goulburn) who was also on the committee.