Community Summit
I spoke in parliament yesterday about my November Community Summit.
Fraser Community Summit
1 November 2011Early this morning, I convened a breakfast roundtable in Parliament House to discuss with 13 ACT community sector leaders the issues of poverty and disadvantage in Canberra. This is the second of these forums that I have arranged and the focus of today’s discussion was on financial literacy, debt and savings. Attendees emphasised that financial problems can be caused by stress factors, such as family breakdown, mental illness, substance abuse and problem gambling. Conversely, financial problems can also cause disadvantage, with money problems leading to health problems, family stress and gambling in an attempt to ‘win back’ losses. Some attendees commented that crisis services are now seeing people who they call the ‘working poor’—such as apprentices and community sector workers. They also pointed out the challenge of high housing costs in the ACT. For people caught in a debt cycle, community leaders pointed out that life is a constant juggling act. People often borrow from their friends and neighbours, and these personal debts can take priority over paying utility bills. One attendee quoted a person in crisis who said, ‘Debt makes me feel like half of me is in the grave already.’
Solutions to debt traps include access to hardship funds operated by utility companies and schools. It is important that these funds are well publicised and that people are able to access them anonymously—particularly in small school communities. And while this government recognises that short-term, small-amount loans or payday loans can be useful for helping people through a crisis, they also create the risk that too much of people’s money can be lost to interest and fees. In the ACT, payday lenders are subject to a 48 per cent interest cap, which includes all fees and charges. At a national level, this government is working through COAG to develop a national regulatory system for payday lenders. That would mean equal protection across states. And through Centrelink, income support recipients can apply for no-interest loans of up to $1,000. Other programs encourage savings, for example through matched savings schemes, to encourage people to build up a nest egg for when they need it most.
We also need to improve financial literacy. As one attendee pointed out, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2006 Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey, 79,000 Canberrans lacked the literacy skills to meet the complex demands of everyday life and work in a knowledge based economy. There are also gaps in financial knowledge. Attendees talked about the challenge for some households in managing budgets, as well as money management skills like paying off high-interest debts first. The Australian government runs programs to boost financial literacy, including the MoneySmart program. Many community sector groups also operate their own financial information programs, as do some schools. It is important that these programs be rigorously evaluated. Overseas experience has shown that financial literacy programs which sound good conceptually do not always perform as well as expected. I would encourage governments at all levels, as well as community organisations, to evaluate financial literacy programs, using randomised trials wherever possible.
The discussion also raised ways of reducing costs for low-income earners. Some initiatives are already being pursued, such as the ACT government’s energy outreach program and the federal government’s record investment in affordable housing. In early October, the federal government announced that the National Rental Affordability Scheme will fund more than 1,500 dwellings in Bruce, Nicholls, Harrison, Bonner, Crace and Watson. Last Friday I opened a new social housing development in O’Connor which will add to the public housing stock, including for tenants with a disability. Attendees emphasised the need for solutions to be holistic. They pointed out the challenge for community sector organisations using multiple funding streams, and the problem for clients of having to meet with many different service agencies. Providing holistic services while ensuring effectiveness and accountability is a major challenge for policymakers in the future.
Finally, I would like to thank the attendees for participating in today’s roundtable: Fiona MacGregor, YWCA ACT; Lynne Harwood, Communities @ Work; Shannon Pickles, St Vincent de Paul; Carmel Franklin, Care Financial Services; Jenny Kitchin, Anglicare ACT; Amy Kilpatrick, ACT Human Rights Office; Roslyn Dundas, ACTCOSS; Dira Home, Belconnen Community Services; Alicia Payne, ACT ALP Community Services Policy Committee; Gordon Ramsay, Uniting Care Kippax; Camilla Rowland, Karralika Programs; and Rhonda Daniell and Judith McDonnell, Gungahlin Regional Community Services. I appreciated the willingness of all attendees to work together to reduce poverty and disadvantage in the ACT.
This summit was an excellent opportunity to focus on the underpinning issues around the causes of poverty in the ACT, and that a multi-pronged wrap around approach is required to work with people who are affected. Forums such as these summits provide service providers with a direct linkage to politicians to talk about important community issues.
Thank you for the opportunity Andrew and we invite to you visit the Karralika Programs Therapeutic Communities to see how wrap-around approaches work in action.
Camilla Rowland
Thank you Andrew for your very positive remarks following the breakfast round table, and also for raising in Parliament the plight of so many in the ACT community. The effort undertaken by our NGO not for profit services is commendable, many who achieve this on a ‘shoe string budget’ Of greatest concern in meeting the growing demand besides the need for more resources, is how we retain, reward and attract people to work in these sectors particualrly in Canberra when we compete against higher levels of remuneration and conditions of employment enjoyed by the public sector. Another critical issue in respect of current and future workforce requirements is existing age profile and lack of opportunity in respect of educational qwualification. We would welcome you again to Karralika to discuss some of the short and long term priorities for the alcohol and other drugs sector.
Kind regards
David Templeman Chair Karralika
Hello,
I’m sure you and your office are serious in trying to represent all your constituents BUT I’m extremely concerned that,apparently, nowadays, policy decisions, both federal and territory(ACT) are apparently not based on real factual research, let alone any basic common sense. Instead serious decisions are seemingly being dominated by so called community consultations and peak groups.
This is really both sad and more than annoying to me. In such historical financially trying times to witness the current Labor Government easily swayed, so influenced by talk fests and so called community consultation, without any apparent strong socially adhesive direction is so frustratingly… surely, right now, this government should be giving strong positive inclusive direction. Incidentally, I’m not just imaginative as I have experienced years of various executive roles in varied well intentioned so called peak groups.
Therefore,to me, merely to focus on targeted minority groups and comply with the strategic planning of key lobbyists means that present policy development and legislation is extremely poor and short-sighted.
With this type of shallow overly politicised governance that the present Gillard government appears to be leading, ensures the deepest inequity for many average Australians, with ongoing negative ramifications for a dismal unbalanced society in future, this will be far bigger and far more important then next paltry election.
To overlook the ongoing reality of poverty that many(many)everyday unskilled and casual Australian workers and their families are experiencing, not to mention the sad lives many innocent children know, all those millions of untargetted Australians.To be disadvantaged as one isnt in targetted population seems unneccessary and unfair & reality is that these the hard deprived lives are far too common and wide spread.. surely ignoring reality can only hurt our Future Nation and all Australians, badly…
So, I believe MPs should listen, closely and contemplate what sort of Australia they are building…seems basic common sense and decency to listen,think and represent all constituents is essential, let alone collecting basic facts. Not relying on the special arranged so called representive meetings to provide representative public opinion…please,find out what average poor people are experiencing and thus ensure a voice and democracy to the unrepresented real, decent people that are presently missing out on a fair go…
I’m not exaggerating… life has become a nightmare for those Australians that are not well payed, cannot access training or employment nor even health or educational support as they are not in so called targetted groups..
It is cost of healthy food,lack of public transport, lack of help with nicotene addiction etc is more of a problem for average low income ACT residents then the minority that already benefit from Govn assistance(ad nauseum by both federal and ACT) The lucky ones are those being in targetted groups with gambling, drug problems, various easily defined social issues such as refugees and exgoal people benefiiting from numerous replicated programmes, and of course the very vocal self funded retirees ….BUT not much real help in Canberra for those who really try hard to get by.. the independant ones, including those peoiple that parent without support, & the women and their children who have fled domestic violence from interstate or those still young enough but whose bodies got old and worn before their time out by working menial jobs… and the many people that spent years caring & working for others and Australian community and now have little super or decent job opportunities ?
Thus, I can only ask you, what on earth has what happened to a fair go, is it still part of eqquity?