Address to UnitingCare Australia – Uniting Missions Network
7 April 2008 | Senator Ursula Stephens
Introduction
Thank you Lin for your introduction and for the invitation to speak today.
I've also noticed that your conference program includes a faith-based agenda, which is very worthwhile, and I wish you luck with that.
I am very pleased to share this morning’s panel with Andrew Johnson, Executive Director of ACOSS. Andrew has worked for many years to promote social inclusion and equality.
I would like to take the opportunity today to share some perspectives on how we will work in partnership with the not-for-profit sector, to make Australia a more caring, inclusive and compassionate society
The UnitingCare National Conference, with its theme 'so where to from here?' could not come at a better time.
And it is an exciting time. We have now passed 125 days of the new Commonwealth Government and there is much to do to build a long-term social inclusion agenda which will seek to bring about a fairer society where all have the opportunity to participate in the life of the nation.
I have been consulting very widely with the not-for-profit sector in recent times and I have found those discussions to be very useful in considering what our social inclusion priorities should be and ways we can achieve them. I also look forward to hearing views at the 2020 Summit, in two weeks, on how we can best strengthen communities, support families and build social inclusion.
Staff and volunteers within the not-for-profit sector – and particularly organisations like UnitingCare – are at the forefront of dealing with disadvantage; serving the needs of children, youth and family, aged and community care, people with disability, as well as providing employment programs and having a presence in rural and remote communities.
I note a paragraph from the Uniting Church’s Statement to the Nation at its Inaugural Assembly back in 1977, which is just as relevant today:
We will work for the eradication of poverty and racism within our society and beyond. We affirm the rights of all people to equal educational opportunities, adequate health care, freedom of speech, employment or dignity in unemployment if work is not available. We will oppose all forms of discrimination which infringe basic rights and freedoms.
You have demonstrated your ability to continually adapt your services to meet changing challenges.
For example, UnitingCare workers in Broadmeadows in outer suburban Melbourne are giving more food aid to people with mortgages, than those in public housing.
Faith-based organisations such as yours are already at the forefront of changing lives, tackling disadvantage and poverty. We rely on you – you are at the pointy end of service delivery. We acknowledge that just as reforms of Government and business regulation have helped improve productivity and skills development for them, we need to strengthen your expertise in service delivery.
We must also build on the work of the sector in strengthening, connecting and empowering local communities, building them from within.
Our Social Inclusion Agenda
I have been lucky enough to have a previewing of Andrew Denton’s latest challenging and moving program, ‘Angels and Demons’ to be aired on ABC TV tonight, which shows us how isolating living with a mental illness can be. I commend it to you all.
Committing to a Social Inclusion agenda is about making a real difference in the lives of people who face barriers to participation in aspects of Australian life most of us take for granted, barriers like living with a mental illness. That’s not just work and education – it’s also the ability to make connections with friends and family, and engagement with the broader community.
We can't continue to neglect to support those who face the greatest barriers to participation.
The focus cannot only be on the groups or individuals who are excluded from participating – we must also question who is it that is excluding 'them'? The answer to this is 'the rest of us'.
In the social capital debate, there is a downside of social capital building, which is the sense of identity and belonging that is built that excludes others.
We must seek to understand the complex reasons why a person may find themselves unable to participate.
They may be living in poverty; have poor access to transport, housing, education or literacy; they may have an addiction to drugs or alcohol; chronic ill health; a disability; or they may live with mental illness.
They may find themselves isolated in remote mining communities or growing regions where infrastructure development hasn’t kept pace.
Many new migrants may become excluded due to language and cultural barriers. The more isolating experiences are torture, trauma and social dislocation in their first country, then disrupted education or no recognition of their prior skills in their new home.
Whatever the reason, or reasons, a person cannot participate, the barriers are different – and cannot be solved through the policy approaches of old.
Social exclusion itself cannot be viewed as an isolated issue; pigeon-holed as something that simply causes poverty. While poverty is social exclusion’s most extreme manifestation, it is much broader than that; and affects all of us – as individuals, as organisations, as businesses and as governments.
Communities will always work better, when those who can participate, are participating.
It is impossible to deliver our Social Inclusion Agenda through one level of government, one department, entity or organisation. This approach is outdated, because it fails to place people at the centre of policy development.
Our agenda is based on making sure the services that our Government purchases and implements, directly meet the needs of citizens.
We want our Social Inclusion policies to achieve the following:
- To Create opportunities for individuals to participate not just in the economic life, but also Australia’s civic and social life;
- To recognise the complex and different barriers which prevent participation, and the real impact this has on individuals and communities, and;
- To acknowledge the need for early intervention, prevention and treatment strategies which provide a pathway to inclusion and a continuum of care.
In considering these aims, it’s clear a holistic evidence-based approach is required by Government to address the array of different needs. Joined-up solutions are needed, proving the vital role of the not-for-profit sector.
Some of the initial priorities include the development of a National Mental Health and Disability Employment Strategy to help to identify why people with a disability and mental illness find participation difficult, and put in place strategies to address these challenges. This project is being led by the Minister for Workforce Participation and the Parliamentary Secretary for Disabilities and Children’s Services.
Consultations have begun and are being held in capital cities of each state and territory with the strategy to be released by the end of the year.
We have committed to the development of a White Paper reducing homelessness over the next decade – work that is to be completed by August. Homelessness is both a manifestation of exclusion and barrier to participation and action in this area is long overdue.
Another important priority for us is to build a new relationship with the not-for-profit sector and your capacity to be part of the solution.
As a start, the Deputy Prime Minister has tasked me with removing the so-called "gag-clauses" in Government contracts.
As you know only too well, the previous Government used these clauses to generate a climate of fear and intimidation about advocacy activities. My work to remove these clauses is well underway.
Advocacy is not only a natural role of the sector, but it is in fact a desirable outcome. And that advocacy must be effective and strategic to meet shared policy outcomes.
It is the foundation of trust and mutual respect that will help to set in place principles for a relationship between the sector and government in terms of contracts, tendering and regulation.
We want to systematically work in partnership with the sector, meeting our Social Inclusion outcomes and providing consistency across Government.
We want to better understand exactly what impact the not-for-profit sector is having on our society. We intend to ask the Productivity Commission to create a new tool, which will measure the direct and indirect contributions of third-sector organisations to our economy.
As of July 1, our significantly re-vamped and expanded $69 million Volunteer Grants Program will commence. This represents the implementation of a major election commitment, and will – over three years:
Inject an extra $15 million in funding so that an additional 6,000 not-for-profit community organisations will be eligible for assistance;
- For the first time, allow organisations to meet the soaring cost of petrol through fuel vouchers, and;
- Roll the two existing Federal Government community organisation support programs into a single, streamlined, expanded and improved Volunteer Grants Program.
For the first time, the Prime Minister has created the role of Federal Parliamentary Secretary for the Voluntary Sector. This is a great opportunity for all of us to start to consider what can be done to achieve a National Volunteering Strategy.
While exclusion divides us, volunteers unite communities.
I will also be exploring ways we can better value and reward our volunteers, give them accreditation, build a culture of community participation and make it easier for people to volunteer. Volunteering can also be recognised as a viable, genuine and valued pathway to sustainable employment.
I also see there are great opportunities to build Corporate Social Responsibility and philanthropic efforts, as part of this strategy.
And, we believe it’s time to review the compliance and regulatory arrangements for the not-for-profit sector. Many not-for-profit organisations have neither the time, nor the resources, to deal with the maze of red tape which exists across different jurisdictions.
A scoping project is underway, with a view to harmonising state-based regulations. Because, let’s face it, disadvantage and needs don't magically stop across a border drawn on a map.
This will not mean less accountability and transparency. It is about having better regulation. What is does mean is that the process should be simplified, while ensuring that services being delivered with government funds put clients at the centre of service delivery, focus on outcomes, rather than outputs.
We are determined to make a difference for the people we are looking to empower and whose lives must be improved – and we will be taking tough decisions about how we fund support services for them – if the results aren't there, then we will try something else.
As the Social Inclusion Board is appointed, it will consult widely with the community and not-for-profit sector, advisory groups and all levels of government. The Board will take this advice to the Social Inclusion Unit inside the Prime Minister's Department.
The Board will provide detailed analysis on various aspects of Social Inclusion, including who should be targeted, how and where communities can be engaged, and what is, and is not, working.
Our Social Inclusion initiatives are not just about welfare. They are about investing in joining social and economic policy to the benefit of both. This is why our Social Inclusion Board and Unit won’t only be made up of welfare representatives, but also serious social and economic thinkers.
Challenging the Sector
You now have a picture of the direction we are taking as we move to Social Inclusion, and how important you and the rest of the sector will be in making this reform agenda a reality.
With you as our partners, we need input on how best we can implement and promote our Social Inclusion agenda, and ensure our approach is as transparent and effective as possible.
I welcome growing calls for a new charities regulator, to make costs and giving more transparent.
Consumer advocacy group Choice is the latest to show its backing, to replace the different State and Territory regulations and reporting requirements in relation to fundraising.
Overseas experiences – like the Charities Commission in the UK or New Zealand – show it's possible to improve transparency and reduce compliance and administration costs for charities; a win-win outcome.
I want you – the people in the sector – to bring your expertise and knowledge to the table, and tell us what else can be done.
Also, I challenge you to consider important ways to promote Social Inclusion.
It makes sense to me that if you are going to embrace this new era of trust and partnership, then you will foster links and common goals between organisations who have been competitively tendering against each other – we're going to give you the space to do that.
I also urge you to forge new alliances to serve as a bridge between organisations and communities in the interest of reaching across social or economic divides.
The sector is best-placed to find and trial new approaches – capitalise on this by promoting innovation and serve as a clearing house for promising ideas.
And, help us to change the old attitudes and perceptions of those who are excluded, and those who are creating exclusion.
Conclusion
So, the world changed when Kevin Rudd became Prime Minister. The Government changed, Australia changed – the hope, energy and enthusiasm for change are tangible.
We must harness that.
Today, I am asking for your cooperation, partnership and trust so that we can work together to create a fairer Australia – a community, not an economy.
I am committed to sharing, collaborating and learning in a new era of partnership.
Apart from the social tragedy that is exclusion, doing nothing to address it is bad economic practice. The cost of those left out of the workforce will ultimately restrict Australia's future growth and prosperity.
Former South African President Nelson Mandela once said:
Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made, and can be overcome by the actions of man-kind.
I believe we have the collective will, vision and knowledge to address the issue of entrenched poverty – and make Australia a better place for the many, not just the few.
Thank you.
Media Contact: Simon Robson 0434 736 519 / 02 6277 3333