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Kaya. Thanks Irina… and thanks to Ingrid Cumming for her warm welcome to Noongar boodja Our Pre Budget Submission is our focal piece of work – where we consult with the community sector ‐ to identify our advocacy priorities for the coming year and beyond. Its when we ask: How is our world is changing ... or failing to change? • What are the biggest challenges we face? • Where is there increasing community concern .. or political focus? …and • Where are there emerging opportunities? • This year we’ve also done something a little different … 2
You will notice this year’s submission is in two parts ‐ The first (new) section discusses the economic and political context in WA … within which we look to understand need, risk and vulnerability … … to identify strategic priorities for policy and reform … … and make specific high ‐ level recommendations to the WA government. The second section then identifies priorities for investment in services and support for the 2016 ‐ 17 WA Budget. It highlights where putting resources into these strategic recommendations ... can achieve some meaningful on ‐ the ‐ ground outcomes that we hope will be pivotal … in securing wider changes to our service system … and better long ‐ term outcomes for our community. So you will see … 3
… on pages 4 & 5 (in blue) … A list of Strategic Policy Recommendations …and A list of Priority Budget Asks Note the figures listed are indicative costs in the 2016 ‐ 17 Budget Our 17 Budget Asks represent a total investment of $382 million per annum (with $250 million of that not required until 2017 ‐ 18). This represents less than 1.3% of a total State budget expenditure of $29.6 billion in 2016 ‐ 17… The majority of these recommendations focus on putting downward pressure on future costs, reducing reliance on acute services, and increasing the participation in our economy and community of those most excluded. The other thing I plan to do a little different this year is not attempt to run through the report from start to finish to outline all the recommendations and asks … (and run out of time)… Instead …. 4
… I plan to pick out the key themes and biggest challenges of the report to discuss… And highlight how some key Recommendations and Asks illustrate how we as a community can respond effectively to these challenges and opportunities… Partnership in Tight Times • Strategic Directions • Effective Early Intervention • Tackling Entrenched Disadvantage • A Fit ‐ for ‐ Purpose Federation • These are the five things I’ll talk to… 5
Our economic circumstances have been adversely affected by a downturn in revenue, the slowing of our economy, reduced business confidence and persistently high housing costs. Those on lower incomes have seen this translate into ‐ increasing levels of unemployment or underemployment, casualization and workplace insecurity … more tenuous tenancies … increased personal debt … leaving many struggling to meet rising daily living costs. At the same time the slowing economy has led to funding pressure on critical services and support provided to those most at risk. Recent Commonwealth service tenders also led to significant service disruption – reduced funding levels, and changes to providers with no information to enable service continuity. The viability of many regional services has been challenged, and we are seeing emerging service gaps and increasing unmet need. The amount of change and reform at state and federal levels inevitably impacts on our sector – the sector itself … and government … need to be proactive about how we maintain a service system predicated on a sustainable sector . How do we ensure sustainability in a complex reform environment? There is a significant risk that indiscriminate cuts may have unintended consequences across the service system … and that a focusing of limited resources onto ‘ core business ’ at an agency level may ultimately lead to gaps emerging … or a short ‐ term focus on crisis 6
and acute services … may lead to increasing costs in the longer term. A telling example was the recent Budget cut to metropolitan financial counselling services. The Department for Child Protection and Family Support faces budgetary pressures due to the growing costs of children in care, with a 40% increase in the number of children removed during this term. The critical problem is that financial counselling services are a cross ‐ cutting early intervention that impacts not only on child protection, but also across – Housing and homelessness, • Justice and legal services, • mental health, • family and relationship services, • alcohol and other drug services, • people with a disability, • As well as electricity, gas and water utilities. • Timely and effective counselling maximise people’s ability to manage their own finances and commitments … minimising the drive in expensive statutory services and hardship. The Department for Local Government and Communities has now taken responsibility for the program and engaged with the sector to co ‐ design a reduced service model within a tight timeframe. This is a step in the right direction … BUT increased resources, better data on community needs and service outcomes, and more time are required to develop a needs ‐ based integrated financial counselling system. SKIP[Across ‐ government collaboration could better link up data, services and outcomes … to measure the whole ‐ of ‐ system savings … but with increasing demand and fewer funded financial counsellors we need to be cautious about increasing the reporting burden at the expense of service delivery.] We’ve called for a $3m per annum investment to co ‐ design an new model of financial counselling services that enhances integration across the service system. Partnership in tight times When resources are tight and difficult decisions must be made, the need for engagement between the public and community sectors is all the more important. We welcome the opportunity to partner with government when additional resources are available.. but a partnership approach is actually more critical when we need to make better use of limited resources to design more efficient services and deliver better outcomes in the face of growing unmet need. The big challenge for us collectively .. IF we truly wish to deliver the benefits of a partnership approach … is to move beyond being “fair ‐ weather friends” and work out how we can collaborate with respect and integrity when we face difficult decisions and lose ‐ lose situations… We need to be clear on the principles by which we make decisions … and have clear and 6
transparent processes for engagement. 6
WACOSS and the Peaks Forum developed some Investment Principles in 2013 that are a good starting point: Prioritise greatest need and focus on long ‐ term outcomes • Evidence ‐ based decision making & program evaluations • Collaborative, consultative and transparent processes • Responsible transitions for service users and organisations (continuity of service, fair • employment outcomes) Net growth to meet demand for critical needs • We also need to have a clear whole of government strategy that combines economic and community development : ‐ We need to be clear about how we are planning, testing and investing now for the future post ‐ resource economy… ‐ This includes how we are tackling inequality and entrenched disadvantage … to lift the aspirations and improve the life outcomes of our most excluded … so they can participate in and contribute to the future prosperity of our community. Leaving no ‐ one behind creates a fairer and more productive society 7
This year our budget priorities focus on: 1. assisting children, young people and families, 2. creating better regional services, 3. supporting people with complex needs and tackling entrenched disadvantage, 4. providing safe, secure and affordable housing for those on lower incomes, … and 5. Increasing their financial resilience. The priorities we have identified (on behalf of the community) align closely with the Strategic Directions identified by the Partnership Forum: Supporting regional service reforms, • Investing in early childhood development, • Delivering more effective youth services for those most at risk, • Reducing the over ‐ representation of Aboriginal children in out of home care • … and Aboriginal youth in the justice system, Tackling the challenges of domestic violence and alcohol and other drug related • harm, Providing practical guidance for the co ‐ design of more efficient, effective and joined ‐ • up service systems. The aim of this partnership is to improve the collective impact of services across the community … through a focus on developing integrated and responsive local service systems. Leadership is needed within both sectors to: promote the principles of partnership and model best practice collaboration, • mobilise support within agencies and services, and • 8
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