Ursula Stephens (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Prime Minister for Social Inclusion) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this evening to share with the chamber the important work that is currently underway to strengthen the relationship between the federal government and Australia’s non-profit sector. We recognise the enormous contribution of the sector to Australian society and to the economy—delivering services, building communities and giving hope.

But theirs is also a very significant sector, comprising some 700,000 organisations. In 2006-07, the non-profit sector accounted for almost 8 per cent of the workforce in Australia and turned over around $75 billion dollars. And more than 2.2 million people volunteered in this sector during 2006.

Ours is a government focused on innovation and collaboration. We are promoting a level of civic engagement in the issues confronting us as a nation, which has not been seen for a very long time. Central to the government’s priorities has been the commitment to a new social inclusion agenda.

We are all touched by the non-profit sector in some way every day, so the importance of non-profit organisations in realising the goal of a fairer and socially inclusive Australia cannot be overstated. We envisage social inclusion as being about every Australian having the chance to make choices, to participate in work, to belong, to have a place to call home, to volunteer, to be visible, to be able to access services, to be able to connect with friends, to believe that their opinion is worth expressing, and, more importantly, is worth being listened to.

The agenda recognises the critical role the non-profit sector plays in delivering services, advising and developing social policy, and advocating on behalf of marginalised groups. A strong relationship between the government and the sector will be crucial to the success of our social inclusion agenda and related reforms.

At present, as Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector, I am engaged in a deep and extensive conversation with the non-profit sector about the kind of mechanisms we can put in place to improve our relationship and to create opportunities for meaningful dialogue with the sector and, in turn, the Australian people. This is why I have led a piece of work across government to restore the right for organisations to advocate, and to remove from existing federal contracts the clauses that constrained advocacy. We have done this, and organisations that are involved in access and equity issues should no longer feel constrained from speaking out.

This is just one first step and we must consider what other reforms we can undertake to strengthen the working relationship and to reframe the partnerships that had become so one-sided under the former government. One way we are exploring to do this is through a national compact—an agreement between the Australian government and the non-profit sector that outlines how the two will work together to improve and strengthen their relationship now and in the future. Compacts exist in countries such as the UK and Canada, as well as in several states and territories. We have learnt that they can be successful vehicles for encouraging innovation, strengthening capacity and improving relations between sectors.

The government is seeking initial views about what a national compact could achieve. We have commissioned ACOSS, the Australian Council of Social Services, to undertake a preliminary stage of consultation to find out if there is value and support within the non-profit sector for developing a compact and, if so, what it might look like. I take this opportunity to thank ACOSS for their work in bringing together such a wide range of organisations at these meetings. I have attended many of them and have been encouraged by the willingness of people to engage with us and provide their feedback on what a new relationship with government might look like.

So far, the consultations are indicating a high level of optimism, but I reiterate that a compact must be not about words but real actions. Organisations welcome the opportunity to have their voices heard on the priority areas of government—and government must be willing to take on board the expertise in the sector. Some key threshold questions remain to be answered—for example, who would sign such a compact; what is its practical application; and, how do we build a relationship that can improve the lives of Australians?

The government also recognises that the sector is diverse and wide reaching, and I am keen to hear how we can be inclusive in our discussions and consultation process. That is why I invited 12 experts in the sector to advise me on what the next steps could be and how to ensure we engage important groups such as volunteers and organisations in rural communities. They recently met with me and highlighted how important it is for this active conversation and, importantly, that there must be change in both sectors.

The endgame must also be about ensuring that all Australians are able to benefit from a more effective relationship between government and non-profit organisations. It has to be about how such an influential policy as social inclusion actually achieves its effects. Many important social innovations have emerged from the non-profit sector over our history—community housing, benevolent societies, self-help groups and participatory environment programs, to name just a few. We must continue to encourage innovation and creativity in this sector, just as we do in industry, education or health. This will ensure that the sector organisations can take advantage of new technologies and service models. It will create opportunities for their contribution to the design of programs and projects—after all, they are the ones with much expertise in reaching out to disadvantaged and excluded Australians. So I believe a compact could provide a way of elevating the independence and status of this important sector in our community.

The notion of social inclusion derives from a fundamental feature of human thought—the imagination. Aristotle wrote long ago, ‘The soul never thinks without a mental image,’ and attributed the capacity to form mental images to the imagination. That is what this discussion is really all about. It is about the sector having the opportunity to imagine a vision for its own future. A national compact, I believe, can help to shape that vision and bring it to reality—where non-profit organisations are working in genuine and respectful partnerships with government and business, where collaboration delivers cooperative action and negotiation that are perceived as legitimate components of public administration rather than just regrettable departures from expected practices.

We are encouraging everyone interested in the way a compact may work and its impact on their organisation or community to participate in the ongoing consultations around the country. The ACOSS website has details of the dates, times and places for these consultations. Submissions are also possible at the social inclusion website. They close this Wednesday, 24 September.

The consultations have also highlighted that the sector is facing many challenges. Many are the results of social change, such as changing community priorities, the falling off of volunteers, capacity constraints and ageing infrastructure. But some of the most difficult challenges are the unintended consequence of government action. Red tape has placed burdens on community organisations that certainly does not reflect the level of risk that these organisations represent. That is why we are determined to reduce the burden of fragmented, competing and duplicated funding models operating across government agencies. We also want to reduce overly complex and inconsistent regulations at the national and state levels. We believe that, if we can achieve this, it will also help to ensure transparency and accountability in the sector.

Promoting social inclusion requires a new way of governing. It involves visualising how things should be. It concerns itself with how our society is and ought to be. We are rethinking—even imagining—how policies and programs across portfolios and levels of government can work together to combat economic and social disadvantage in Australia and break down the barriers to participation.

I acknowledge the enduring endeavours of the non-profit sector in Australian communities. I have been privileged to meet many wonderful people who make up the sector and I look forward to our conversation as we build a vital agenda for a fairer, inclusive Australia.