As we moved towards the Voice Referendum in October 2023, ACOSS was privileged to work with the Fred Hollows Foundation, ANTAR and Oxfam Australia to launch the Allies for Uluru Coalition in support of the Uluru Statement from the Heart and an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.
I was truly heartened by the active and overwhelming support across our sector for the ‘yes’ vote – and, following the devastating referendum result, by the many sector organisations that signed on to the Statement of Solidarity with First Nations Communities, reaffirming their commitment to true allyship with First Nations peoples. ACOSS has also made its own pledge to walk beside First Nations communities to a brighter future, and as Australia’s peak body for the community sector we will continue to advocate for Voice, Treaty and Truth.
This year ACOSS also launched the community sector’s Blueprint Framework for Fair, Fast and Inclusive Climate Change Action. The Blueprint Framework has been widely recognised as vital to bringing together action to tackle climate change and inequality. Key actions to deliver on the framework included partnering with the First Nations Clean Energy Network to conduct and publish a heat survey – enabling people to tell their stories about the impacts of heat, inefficient housing and high energy bills – and supporting a delegation of people to meet with federal politicians to ask for greater investment in home energy upgrades for low-income housing.
In response to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, other key areas of focus throughout the year included:
- Calls for urgent funding for crisis-response services, better and more transparent sector grants and funding processes, appropriate disbursement of indexation on Commonwealth Grants, and greater legislative protections for charities to undertake systemic advocacy about these and other critical issues.
- Action to elevate the experiences of people at the harshest impacts of increasing costs, with the Raise the Rate campaign surveying people on income support, as well as mobilisation of leaders from across the wider community to publicly support the urgent need for substantial increases to income support payments.
- Urgent calls for an immediate end to automated payment suspensions in Workforce Australia, alongside sustained advocacy highlighting the harms of mutual obligation and engagement on the replacement of the harmful ParentsNext program.
- Bringing attention to the role of interest rate rises on rising unemployment and the employment opportunities of people on low incomes, as well as the full employment commitment in the RBA’s mandate.
In addition, we engaged extensively with the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee to bring advice to the federal government on policy settings to enhance economic inclusion. Our work with the UNSW and ACOSS Poverty and Inequality Partnership to inquire into and illuminate the nature and extent of poverty in Australia was also ongoing. We warmly thank all partners in this crucial work.
As we reflect on the significance of the recent US election, I am powerfully reminded of our role in bringing people together, building bridges and closing divides. Our responsibility to tackle inequalities, particularly for those with the least, is more important than ever. Likewise, our role in supporting people across communities to share their experiences and build understanding is crucial to social cohesion, and to supporting democracy and human rights.
Finally, my heartfelt thanks to the colleagues with whom I have the privilege to work, including our National Members, the State and Territory Councils of Social Service, the many other friends and partners who provide invaluable support, the ACOSS Board of Directors and the ACOSS staff team. I am grateful every day for all that you do.