It is simply not acceptable that while the economy booms and companies continue to post record profits, more than 2 million Australians are left behind. Social inclusion must be a first order priority for the new Government. There is much to fix after a decade where the Federal Government preferred to ignore the voices of the marginalised and stigmatise the weak. The legacy of the Howard decade is a growing divide between the rich and the poor - we've gone backwards.
At the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) conference this week, Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard placed social inclusion firmly back on the Government's agenda. She identified affordable housing and indigenous affairs as key issues to be tackled. She also highlighted the need to work with the not-for-profit sector to improve the lives of marginalised people.
The CFMEU, as a progressive union, advocates a proper and robust policy focus on social inclusion. Indigenous people, the unemployed, those with a disability, victims of domestic violence and the homeless; none of these people should be allowed to disappear off the edge of the prosperous world that the rich and powerful enjoy.
Some important steps are already being taken. Ripping up WorkChoices will advance secure employment, affordable housing measures will help and commitments to better resourcing education and training are vital. But there's a lot to be done and good policy should be guided by the experience of those best placed to understand the problem and be involved in the solutions - the people themselves who experience social exclusion. The fact that government is now listening is a welcome change and an important stage in the process of building a fairer society.
14 April 2008
