08 March. This year we celebrate International Women’s Day (8th March) the day before the WA election and at the culmination of a week when the community sector campaigned on poverty and the cost of living.
07 March. Mental health carers, consumers, family members and all of us have an interest in getting Western Australia’s mental health policy right. How have the political parties performed in the upcoming State election and what tangible benefits do they offer? Who is best to steer mental health into the future?
06 March. The ‘cost of living’ is widely recognised as a key issue for voters ahead of Saturday’s
election. For more informaton, please view our Poverty & Cost of Living page.
01 March. Joint report of WACOSS, WAAMH, & WANADA has been released. For more information, please view our People with Complex Needs page.
01 March. "Justice and Community Safety in WA: Efficient investment in effective outcomes" was released at the Aboriginal Alcohol and Drug Service - 9am Friday 01 March 2013.
Create Report Card 2013: Experiencing Out-of-Home Care in Australia - The Views of Children and Young People
01 March. Release of the 2013 Report Card on The Views of Children and Young People in out-of-home care.
Human Rights in Western Australia - Community Legal Centres (WA) and King & Wood Mallesons Human Rights Law Group
Release of the 2012 Report Card on human rights developments in WA, on Wednesday 6 March at King Wood Mallesons.
Building a more effective youth justice system in WA. For more information, please see our Children, Young People & Families page to view our factsheets.
21 Feb. "Building a more effective youth justice system" was launched at Parliament House - 1:30pm Thursday 21 February 2013.
20 Feb. The WA Council of Social Service is calling for greater focus on children, young people and families as a priority for WA in this State Election.
With the upcoming Western Australian State Government election in less than three weeks, Community Employers WA calls on all political parties to reaffirm their commitment to working with the Employers in the Community Sector.
Enfranchising the Disenfranchised - Click here for more information
In an innovative approach to ensuring that disengaged members of the community are encouraged to exercise their entitlement and have a voice in the democratic process, St Patrick’s will have a special pre-poll voting station at their community support centre in Fremantle between 8.30 and 10.30am on Monday 25th February. “While pre-polling is common in areas like nursing homes, this is a first for us,” said Michael Piu, Chief Operations Officer, “and in a sense “enfranchising the disenfranchised” is just as important a task for us, both at an individual and community level, as the other work we do”.
15 Feb. The Western Australian Council of Social Services today launched the Stronger Together: Regional & Remote Community Consultation report – the result of extensive consultation with regional community service providers during September 2012.
15 Feb. Stronger Together, the Regional & Remote Consultation Paper for the WACOSS Pre-Budget Submission 2013-14.
13 Feb. The WA Peaks Forum has called on all parties to commit to work with the community sector to address key issues affecting the sustainability of community services on which over half a million Western Australians rely.
13 Feb. The list of principles released by the WA Peaks Forum that they are calling on parties to respond to.
5 Feb. The high cost of housing is the biggest cost of living challenge for Western Australian households and the greatest cause of financial stress among low income families.
Australians for Affordable Housing - Media Release
New research by Australians for Affordable Housing into the housing crisis has shown that Western Australian parents with children are increasingly foregoing home ownership.
The WA State Election webpage will go live, on Tuesday the 5th of February.
WANADA Forum - Click here for more Information
The WA Network of Alcohol and Other Drugs Agencies (WANADA) held a public forum on Thursday 24 January 2013 to learn about the Parties policies and commitments on this issue.
More information: Jill Rundle, CEO, WANADA on (08) 6365 6365.
Anglicare releases election statement - Click here for more information
Anglicare WA has released a list of 21 priorities that it hopes to see in party platforms for the upcoming State election. More information, please contact Mookie Tantiprasut Anglicare on: 0413436878
Women's Council High Tea Event - Click here for more information
The Women’s Council has written to each of the major Parties requesting information about their position on responding to victims of domestic and family violence in Western Australia. The Women’s Council will be profiling each political party’s commitment at their International Women’s Day High Tea being held at the Duxton Hotel on Friday 8 March. More Information: Angie Hartwig, CEO, Women’s Council,
(08) 9420 7264
Printed and Authorised by Irina Cattalina. 2 Delhi Street, West Perth. WA 6005
Launch of Women’s Ten Point Plan of Action Project report.
Women’s Health Matters: A 10 Point Plan of Action For Western Australian Women’s Health and Wellbeing 2011 – 2015 is the first of its kind in Western Australia. The Plan drew from the knowledge and experience of local, national and international women’s sectors. It proposes to integrate women’s health policy with other areas of government services in a coordinated way that embeds gender in the social determinants approach to health and wellbeing policy practice. The Plan suggests a monitoring system that identifies women’s specific needs and ensures these needs are integrated into the planning, management and delivery of mainstream services.
Lotterywest funded a project that provided significant additional research on models of implementation, and discussions with community organisations, the public sector and political leaders, including the event, Women’s Health on the Agender, which was held in November, 2012.
Ann Deanus, the CEO of Women’s Health and Family Services and chair of the Women’s Health peak, said: “There was widespread endorsement of the Plan and insights into strategies to take the Plan from words to action, which are reflected in a report, titled Women’s Ten Point Plan of Action. Project report.”
WACOSS CEO Irina Cattalini was MC for an event on February 8th, organised by the Women’s Health peak to release the report. A representative of each of the major parties was invited to attend to formally receive a copy of it. Each political party representative has also been asked to provide their response to the 10 Point Plan and the Report so that it may be published in an electronic Newsletter for International Women’s Day, on March 8th.
WACOSS has developed an election strategy which is trying to ensure that the interests of disadvantaged and vulnerable Western Australians and the community service organisations that support them are clearly on the agenda for the upcoming election, by identifying a key priority issue (based on our Pre Budget Submission) for each of the 5 weeks in the lead-up to the election on March 9th. “Housing and Homelessness was the first priority issue highlighted as part of this strategy. Given the extent to which housing issues came up as integral to women’s health and wellbeing, it provided a timely opportunity for WACOSS to be involved in this event” said Ms Cattalini.
Copies of the Project Report are available from here.