Contacting local candidates about inequality, ensuring votes for people with disability, and NT budget fails sector

All the latest news from the Councils of Social Service of Australia.

ACOSS

The ACOSS network represents and is connected to thousands of community agencies, who employ countless frontline community workers, and provide support to people in every corner of the continent with lived experience of poverty and inequality. We need to make sure that candidates are hearing those voices in the final week before the election. To help do this, ACOSS has put together a webtool to allow people to contact their MPs and candidates. 

NCOSS

NCOSS has co-signed a joint letter with Australian Lawyers for Human Rights, to the prime minister and leader of the Opposition, to remove barriers that prevent people with disability from exercising their right to vote. 

VCOSS

The team at VCOSS has been working hard to break down the details of the 2022 Victorian budget. Take a look at the online Breaking down the 2022 Victorian budget hub for snapshots and full analysis. 

NTCOSS

NTCOSS has noted that the NT budget fails its NT community sector. NTCOSS CEO Deborah Di Natale says the Aboriginal Justice Agreement will not be able to meet its aims under a budget of $13 million over four years outlined in budget papers. NTCOSS continues to call on the NT government to significantly increase funding needed in youth support services that help to keep children on the right track. 

QCOSS

During national Neighbourhood Centre Week, QCOSS and Neighbourhood Centres Queensland (NCQ) are jointly calling for an urgent increase in funding for NCCs. QCOSS CEO Aimee McVeigh said for many people experiencing vulnerability and poverty, the state’s 143 NCCs were their first port of call.

SACOSS

The immense risks and impacts of climate change were starkly highlighted at SACOSS’ Building a Climate Resilient Community Sector conference last week, and the community sector peak body is calling for urgent state government action in response, including investment in a disaster resilience and risk reduction fund, among other measures.

ACTCOSS

Canberrans living on low incomes are being hit hardest by the biggest increase in cost of living in over 20 years. More people are seeking support from ACT community sector organisations due to the rising cost of living and declining income support. These are among the stark findings of the 2022 ACT Cost of Living Report released last week by ACTCOSS.

TasCOSS

TasCOSS recently provided evidence and recommendations to the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings. TasCoss brought to the attention of the commission concerns about the speed and thoroughness of the government’s reforms of the child safety system and response to recommendations put forward by the Royal Commission into Child Sexual Abuse. 

WACOSS

Last week the WA government announced its 2022-23 state budget. WACOSS, joined by members of the Department of Treasury, hosted a state budget briefing to analyse the impact of the budget on vulnerable people, community services organisations and the broader community

This article was contributed by ACOSS Community Hub.