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Now more than ever, we need to work to close the gap in Aboriginal health
Despite living in a wealthy country with a 21st century health system , in Victoria today the Aboriginal child mortality rate is still higher than the non-Aboriginal rate, and Aboriginal life...
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Help us make social housing work
Victoria’s lack of affordable housing is at crisis point. Only two per cent of rental homes in Melbourne are affordable for working single-parent families and none are affordable for a single person on...
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Strategic and financial planning for community organisations
The roll-out of the NDIS, cuts to government spending on social services and recommissioning are just some of the current issues that Victorian community organisations must consider when planning for...
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Youth diversion: What Victoria needs
Smart Justice for Young People launched a youth diversion video in April to highlight the value and importance of diversion for young people in the justice system. The following is an edited excerpt...
View ArticleDelivering emergency relief to asylum seekers in the community
Robert Gruhn is Public Policy and Advocacy Officer at the UnitingCare Victoria and Tasmania, a network of 26 community service agencies within the Uniting Church, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania. In...
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Making mental health an election priority
With Mental Health Week upon us, VCOSS is joining the community mental health sector in giving a voice to the thousands of Victorians living with mental illness, their families and carers, who are at...
View ArticleStill no solution for loss of EMA
Recent media commentary regarding a lack of clarity about the funding for Victorian schools as part of the Gonksi deal is disheartening. The Gonski reforms were meant to make funding more rather than...
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Looming gas price rise needs action to protect low-income groups
Sixteen years ago, an explosion at Esso’s Longford gas plant and the consequent three-week shutdown of the gas network reminded most Victorians of their heavy reliance on having gas piped into their...
View ArticleWe need action to keep people safe during heatwaves
Every year in Victoria heatwaves kill more people than all other natural disasters combined. Yet heatwaves are not included in the State’s emergency management plans – potentially putting more lives at...
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Energy retailers need to lift their game to prevent disconnections
Today, more than 300 people will phone the Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria (EWOV) with a complaint about their energy retailer. Sixty of them will be calling about a payment issue, and 35 of them...
View ArticleGovernments under-invest in natural disaster mitigation: Productivity Commission
The Australian Government’s Productivity Commission’s recently released Natural Disaster Funding Draft Report argues that a greater focus on mitigation would limit the impact of natural disasters, and...
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Justice and disadvantage? Just add rurality….
People living in regional, rural and remote areas face barriers in accessing justice that can lead to life-changing repercussions. Catherine McFaul argues that justice policies need to include a focus...
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Vulnerable Australians most at risk from climate change
Climate change is not just an environmental issue – it is a social justice issue. The recent NCCARF-CSIRO Climate Adaptation 2014 Future Challenges conference heard that the impacts of climate change –...
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Save Foster Care: the Pozible campaign
On any given night there are about 6,400 children living in out-of-home care in Victoria. About 2,000 of these children are in foster care. Foster carers dedicate their lives to supporting some of the...
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From Principles to Practice
Last year, the Victorian Government released its report into Service Sector Reform: A roadmap for community and human services reform. It subsequently adopted the 10 principles suggested in the report,...
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Funding for youth diversion programs a good step
The State Government has made the welcome announcement that it will direct more than $7 million towards youth diversion programs if re-elected in November. The two year pilot announced on Sunday will...
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Improving transport accessibility
Ray Jordan is the facilitator of All Aboard, a group of accessibility advocates and community organisations who work together to improve the accessibility of the Victorian public transport network....
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Spreading the benefits of energy efficiency to everyone
Anne Martinelli from Environment Victoria outlines how the One Million Homes Alliance plan to roll out energy efficiency retrofits to low income households would save billions of dollars in Victoria’s...
View ArticleYoung people transitioning from out-of-home care in Victoria
Strengthening support services for clients of child protection and youth justice By: Associate Professors Philip Mendes and Pamela Snow and Ms. Susan Baidawi, Faculty of Medicine, Monash University,...
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Rental stress mapped by electorates
Sarah Toohey, Policy & Communications Manager at CHP - Council to Homeless Persons – writes about their analysis of which Victorian electorates are being hardest hit by rental stress. ABS data...
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