Poverty can be tackled in South Australia. We are part of one of the richest countries on earth at the richest time in human history, so if ever there was a time to tackle poverty and disadvantage, it is now. There is clear need to do much more than just ‘more of the same’ which has…
Like many I have been witness to the sad demise of South Australia’s approach to child protection over more than 2 decades. We have not been alone in our struggle to develop and implement a system that works for children, families and the community at large. However South Australia has, arguably, struggled to find the…
Uniting Communities has sent a submission to the legislative council outlining our concerns about the SA government’s proposed legislation for mandated treatment for children and young people who are dependent on drugs (click here for our submission). Uniting Communities has been providing specialist drug and alcohol treatment services for many years and so we see…
Evidence and reports from communities indicate that the implementation of the Cashless Debit Card has not achieved the results which are being claimed by the Federal Government. Instead of punishing people on income support by placing them on the Card the Government should be directing its attention to increasing public housing stock and ensuring the…
Uniting Communities congratulates the ACCC on delivering a report proposing a practical path to average energy savings of about 20% within 3 years in South Australia and calls on governments, industry and regulators to deliver on the 56 recommendations. The report recognises ‘once and for all’ that energy prices are too high. The ACCC says…
Today marks the beginning of a national week of action for Family Matters, a campaign to address the growing over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people in child protection and care. Aboriginal children are currently being removed from their families at almost ten times the rate of non-Aboriginal children across Australia.…
Following the Coalition Government’s past cuts to the aged-care budget of more than $2bn as a result of adjustments to the residential care funding formula, the announcement of a $1.6 billion aged-care and retirees package is welcome news. “While we welcome these additional packages, this number falls well short of those needed and does little…
The 2018-19 Budget has included announcements that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Whilst some measures are set to deliver an increase to services and are seen as a positive step forward, one would have expected more attention to be paid to addressing the persistent and growing gaps in disadvantage. Media release ATSI Budget 2018
Uniting Communities supports self-determination for Aboriginal peoples by supporting communities to take the lead, and calls for the adequate resourcing of these activities. Self-determination is key to closing the gap. In our view, the Closing the Gap Strategy is premised on a deficit model and we would encourage a more strengths-based and positive narrative around…
Getting it Right Early: South Australian Government’s Prevention and Early Intervention Strategy for Child Abuse and Neglect 2018 We are pleased to provide a response to the draft of the Getting it Right Early: South Australian Government’s Prevention and Early Intervention Strategy for Child Abuse and Neglect 2018 (hereafter referred to as the draft strategy). We…
