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ACOSS Policy Forum 2011 was a great success!
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Over 60 attendees used the opportunity to be a part of the strategic direction of ACOSS policy for the next year, with the assistance of presentations and discussions by sector representatives, including:
- Professor Peter Whiteford from the Social Policy Research Centre
- Maree O'Halloran, President of the National Welfare Rights Network
- David Thompson, CEO of Jobs Australia
- Lisa Fowkes, Consultant in policy and NFP management
- Caroline Lambert, Executive Director of YWCA Australia
- Linda Lavarch, Chair of the NFP Reform Council
- Gerard Menses, National Roundtable of Nonprofit Organisations
- David Crosbie, Community Council for Australia
Click here to view the program from this event.
Session 1: An adequate standard of living for all? Economic inequality, payment and employment policy reform
Session 1 included a presentation by Professor Peter Whiteford, followed a discussion between Maree O'Halloran, David Thompson and Lisa Fowkes addressing social security and employment policy, with a view to developing strategies for future advocacy. Included in the discussion was:
- the context and proposed policy reforms to improve the payments and employment prospects of people out of paid work; and
- strategies to influence both policymakers and experts and broader public opinion on these issues.
A lively discussion ensued between forum participants and the panel in which the Tax Summit was debated, with a consensus that it was critical; various means of bringing to wider attention the plight of those without paid work attempting to live on the Newstart Allowance; the problems of insecure work and the lack of indexation.
>>Click here for presentation from Professor Peter Whiteford, Social Policy Research Centre, UNSW
Discussion:
- Maree O'Halloran, President of the National Welfare Rights Network.
- David Thompson, CEO of Jobs Australia.
- Lisa Fowkes, Consultant.
>> Click here to see Lisa Fowkes' slides.
Launch: Evaluating the gender diversity of not-for-profit sector leadership
Our pre-lunch event was the launch of a survey looking at the gender diversity of the leaders of the not-for-profit sector. Whilst it is a well-known fact that our sector has a larger than average percentage of females in the workforce, how many of them are leaders of this workforce is unknown. Thus the decision by ACOSS, YWCA Australia and Women on Boards to survey the sector!
The survey had a massive 200 responses by the end of its launch day! It closed on 12th December - we look forward to seeing the results.
Address: Dr Caroline Lambert, Executive Director of YWCA Australia. Click here to view address presentation.
Session 2: Developing the sector: for what and by whom?
This session covered a range of perspectives on sector-related reforms. Issues that were focused on included the newly-established Commission and strategies for implementation; modernising the definition of charity so that it reflects the range of contemporary purposes and strategies of charities; and ensuring adequate funding and wages.
Chair: Dr Tessa Boyd-Caine, Deputy Director, ACOSS. Click here for presentation.
Discussion:
- Linda Lavarch, Chair of the NFP Reform Council and Research Fellow and the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies, QUT.
- Gerard Menses, CEO, Vision Australia
- David Crosbie, CEO, Community Council for Australia