MAY 2023
Welcome to the latest newsletter from the BSL Social Policy and Research Centre (SPARC).
We highlight the need for better services to support early childhood development and protect children from poverty, for reform of employment services, and for all Australians to be informed and engaged in considering the Voice to Parliament.
Also included are our response to the 2023 Federal Budget, our work on a fair transition from gas to electricity and early results from the AgFutures training initiative in south-west Victoria.
You can read more about our work at www.bsl.org.au/research and also browse our policy submissions.
Please share this update with your colleagues and encourage them to subscribe.
BSL TALK: ENGAGING MULTICULTURAL COMMUNITIES ON THE VOICE REFERENDUM
Wednesday 14 June 2023, 10 am to 11 am
At a referendum later this year, Australians will have the opportunity to vote on whether they support the principles of having a First Nations Voice to Parliament. In this webinar, we look at how multicultural communities can get access to appropriate information about the referendum, and why a YES vote will be good for all of Australia.
POLICY: PLACING CHILDREN AND FAMILIES AT THE CENTRE
To achieve the best short and long-term outcomes for Australia’s children, they and their families must be placed at the centre of the nation’s early years strategy. This and other reforms recommended in our submission to the Department of Social Services inquiry.
Read our Submission to the Early Years Strategy (PDF, 333 KB)
WEBINAR RECORDING: TACKLING POVERTY IN THE EARLY YEARS
What is the current state of Australia’s early childhood services and what is the best way to improve our early childhood development approach to ensure every child in Australia has the best possible start to life?
Watch the BSL Talk Tackling poverty in the early years chaired by BSL’s Travers McLeod with panellists Jay Weatherill (Thrive by Five), Deborah Brennan (Productivity Commission) and Gretchen Young (SNAICC).
POLICY: REFORMING EMPLOYMENT SERVICES TO BENEFIT JOBSEEKERS, EMPLOYERS AND COMMUNITIES
BSL collaborated with the Centre for Policy Development and the University of Melbourne to respond to the inquiry into Workforce Australia employment services. Together we presented a vision of an employment services system that, instead of being designed to manage risk and deliver narrow, short-term outcomes, will support jobseekers, business and communities to thrive.
Read the Joint submission to the Inquiry into Workforce Australia Employment Services (PDF, 1.4 MB)
MEDIA: TIMELY BUDGET FOCUS ON ADDRESSING DISADVANTAGE
BSL has welcomed the strategic shift in the Federal Budget towards improving the lives of people experiencing poverty and disadvantage.
Read more in our media release Federal Budget shifts focus towards those experiencing poverty and disadvantage
PRESENTATION: TRAINING THE FUTURE FARM WORKFORCE
Our developmental evaluation of AgFutures is shedding light on how to engage both employers and young people in co-designing training for the agriculture sector in south-western Victoria. These interim findings could guide the wider vocational education and training sector in responding to diverse industry and labour market demands.
Read the presentation to the AVETRA conference by Madeleine Morey, Co-designing a foundational training offer for young people (PDF, 1.1 MB)
LIBRARY NEWS: BSL TIMELINE ACROSS THE DECADES
The BSL Timeline is a rich resource that records the history of the Brotherhood of St. Laurence, drawing on archival and published material. This month we focus on BSL Across the Decades. This section is a chronological history of the organisation since the 1930s, covering areas of the Brotherhood’s work including community development, employment, refugees and research and policy.
The Timeline is continually updated by the BSL Social Policy Library staff and volunteers.
Rory Anderson joined the Work and Economic Security team of the Social Policy and Research Centre in 2021. He has a Master of Public Policy degree from RMIT, and has previous research and policy analysis experience working at the Grattan Institute and the Climate and Health Alliance.
Since July 2022, Rory has been on secondment to the Financial Inclusion Team, working on a Living Costs online tool. This tool will assist people experiencing hardship to improve their financial wellbeing, and will support financial capability workers with their clients.
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BSL Social Policy and Research Centre
67 Brunswick Street, Fitzroy Vic. 3065 Australia
Phone: (03) 9483 1183
Email: research@bsl.org.au
Web: www.bsl.org.au/research
© Brotherhood of St. Laurence 2023
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The Brotherhood of St. Laurence (BSL) is a social justice organisation that works to prevent and alleviate poverty across Australia. You are receiving this email as you have previously subscribed to the BSL Research and Policy Centre e-newsletter. To unsubscribe, please click on the link below.