A Fairer Victoria

A just society does not allow its most disadvantaged members to fall behind and become marginalised from the mainstream. Unfortunately, not all Victorians have shared in the benefits of our prosperous economy and some groups of people continue to experience disadvantage, hardship and barriers to accessing opportunities to improve their lives. However, the Victorian Labor Government is working to reduce disadvantage and create better opportunities for the most marginalised in our society through A Fairer Victoria, the Government’s over-arching plan for social policy.

Below is some information about policies and strategies in the areas of Aboriginal Affairs, Multicultural Affairs and Women’s Affairs.

Aboriginal Affairs

The Victorian Government recognises Victoria’s Indigenous peoples as traditional custodians and Victoria’s first peoples. Shamefully, past Government policies of assimilation and child removal have resulted in injustice and disadvantage which persist in many Indigenous communities. In the area of Aboriginal Affairs, the Victorian Labor Government strives to right past wrongs by rebuilding healthy communities, tackling Indigenous disadvantage and ensuring that Indigenous communities are directly consulted about Government policies which affect them.

Sadly, Indigenous people have a dramatically lower life expectancy than the non-Indigenous population and continue to suffer from diseases more commonly associated with the third world. It is unacceptable that in a country as prosperous as Australia, the health of one group of citizens should be so much worse than the rest of the population. Whilst recognising that these problems cannot be solved overnight, the Victorian Labor Government working towards improving both life expectancy and quality of life for Indigenous Victorians.

Victoria has several major strategies to address health inequalities in Aboriginal people and expenditure on Aboriginal-specific health programs delivered by both Indigenous health organisations and mainstream agencies has almost doubled to $27 million in 2004-05. One example is the Koori maternity service program that provides culturally-appropriate support to Aboriginal women through the employment of Aboriginal health workers and midwives outreaching to women from ten community controlled health organizations,.

Whilst there have been improvements in Indigenous educational performance, there is still a large and unacceptable gap between Indigenous and non–Indigenous students on almost all major measures. The Victorian Government aims to increase the participation and retention rates and improve numeracy and literacy amongst Indigenous children, particularly through early childhood education. Preschool assistants will be placed with Indigenous children in early childhood education centres and Indigenous parents holding eligible concession cards will receive subsidised kindergarten for three–year old Aboriginal children.

Through the Indigenous Justice Agreement, the Victorian Labor Government will continue to reduce Indigenous over-representation within the criminal justice system. The establishment of nine Koori Courts across the State allow traditional elders to sit alongside judges, permit the use of customary law as a defence and take traditional forms of punishment into account in sentencing. Koori Liaison Officers will assist Indigenous offenders into court diversion and support programs and will continue to target teenagers and young adults in contact with, or at risk of entering, the juvenile justice system.

Under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006, a system of Registered Aboriginal Parties which have responsibilities for managing and protecting Aboriginal cultural heritage at a local level was been established, whilst standard management practice is outlined in the Heritage Management Plans. The Act also established the Aboriginal Heritage Council, to advise the Government on cultural heritage, to which 11 Indigenous Victorians have been appointed.

Multicultural Affairs

The Victorian Labor Government believes that cultural diversity is a part of the fabric of our community and everyone has the right to practice, enjoy and share their culture. The Victorian Government’s aims in the area of multicultural affairs are to reduce inequality, improve access to services and encourage participation in our community, leading to a more diverse yet cohesive Victoria.

The Victorian Labor Government provides extensive resettlement services to refugees and asylum seekers. Through the Refugee Support Package, refugees and asylum seekers can access public hospitals, the Utility Relief Grant Scheme, the Education Maintenance Allowance and public transport concession cards. Community-based refugee health nurses and early intervention refugee workers improve refugees’ access to culturally-appropriate healthcare and increase their participation in the community in areas of high need in metropolitan Melbourne.

A range of other services and programs, including interpreter services, counselling services, locally-based police initiatives and leadership programs are provided in conjunction with Government agencies, schools and community organisations. The Victorian Labor Government has also supported the establishment of a multicultural policing policy within the Victoria Police, which includes a Multicultural Advisory Unit.

As many migrants arrive in Australia with qualifications which are not recognised, the Victorian Labor Government has established the Overseas Qualification Unit to assist overseas qualified professionals to have their qualifications assessed and access jobs.

The Racial and Religious Tolerance Act was introduced to protect all Victorians from serious racial and religious vilification, whilst the Multicultural Victoria Act will strengthen multiculturalism within all Government departments through mandatory reporting on equity and access to services for multicultural communities.

The Victorian Multicultural Commission provides the Government with independent and responsive advice, and promotes the participation of Victorians, regardless of their ethnicity, culture and religious background, in public life. Through the Commission, the Victorian Labor Government has allocated increased levels of funding and grants to multicultural communities designed to bolster the important work that community organisations perform as service providers and cultural outlets.

Women’s Affairs

The Victorian Government believes in the equality between men and women, whilst recognising that barriers to achieving this ideal continue to exist within society. In the area of women’s policy, the Victorian Government aims to increase equity, improve justice and safety and increase choices for Victorian women.

Through the Returning to Earning program, the Government provides advice and grants of up to $1,000 for education or training related costs, to assist parents, particularly women, temporarily out of the paid workforce. Advice will also be available to employers on ways to assist women to return to the workforce.

The Government has provided $1 million towards Financial Literacy Training to help women become more financially secure, increase their earnings and plan for a more comfortable retirement. Superannuation contributions for women on maternity leave from public service have been guaranteed, and the Government promotes superannuation for women on maternity leave in the private sector through the Super-4-Mums scheme.

The Victorian Labor Government has established a Working Families Council to champion and promote employment practices that help balance work and family time, and to work towards reducing the gender pay gap. The Council will work with industry and community groups to promote employment practices that allow workers to better manage the stresses of juggling their work and family commitments, and advise the Government on strategies to reduce the gender pay gap.

Sadly, family violence affects one in five women and is the leading contributor to death, disability and illness in Victorian women aged 15 to 44 years. The Victorian Labor Government has continued to build on the Law Reform Commission’s report on family violence to improve outcomes for women. Specialist courts have been established in Ballarat and Heidelberg, and additional assistance is available when Family Violence hearings are held at several other courts. Alternative arrangements for giving evidence can be made, such as the use of remote witness facilities and specialist Family Violence Police Prosecutors, court staff and referral services such as emergency accommodation and counselling work together as an important part of the court.

Immediate assistance is now provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the victims of family violence, including immediate police response and telephone support. Women and children have a greater choice of housing options, with more support to help them stay in their own homes, in addition to improved access to public or community managed housing, secure refuges or private rental properties. A stronger response to men who use violence is being taken, and referral to behaviour change programs can now be accessed through the courts.

Following the recent introduction of a Private Members Bill to decriminalise abortion, the matter of expanding womens access to termination services been referred to the Law Reform Commission. The Commission will release a report in early 2008.