The Coalition of Tasmanian Community Service Peaks has welcomed the election promises of the three major political parties.
TasCOSS CEO Ms Adrienne Picone said the work of the 16-strong coalition would not stop at the end of the week when the election was held.
“While we are buoyed by the support we have received in the form of election commitments, there is more work to do and some gaps in the promises against what we have sought,” Ms Picone said.
“We said that working in partnership is the key and we will continue to advocate for this critical commitment.
“The coalition called on an incoming state government to build a strong partnership with the state’s community services industry to ensure no Tasmanian missed out on essential supports.”
The industry coalition’s campaign called on candidates and parties to ‘Prioritise all Tasmanians’ and articulate how they will, if elected, build a sustainable community services industry to meet the current and future needs of all Tasmanians.
Ms Picone said the industry sought commitments from all political leaders to appropriately resource Tasmania’s community services system under a fairer funding model.
“The Greens, Labor and Liberal all indicated support for five year funding agreements,” she said.
“We also called for a funding model that ensures an indexation rate that covers the true cost of operating and providing essential services to Tasmanians in need. These include emergency food relief, domestic, family and sexual violence support, children and family services, mental health assistance and services that support people experiencing homelessness.
“While the Greens committed to ensuring indexation reflects the true costs incurred by community service organisations, there is still more work to do to ensure the Liberal and Labor parties approach is in keeping with community expectations and the level of need.”
Ms Picone said both the Labor and Liberal parties committed to a partnership with the industry, with Labor promising to establish a Premier’s Community Services Partnership Agreement.
“All three parties proposed supporting a sustainability program, with Labor and Liberal committing $150,000 for this specific purpose,” she said.
“The community services industry is central to building the resilience of Tasmanians and the communities in which they live and work.
“It is one of the largest and fastest growing industries in Tasmania — its 28,000 highly-skilled workers and 46,000 volunteers work hard every day to support Tasmanians, and in doing so add $1.9 billion annually to the state’s economy.”
The Coalition of Community Service Peaks includes the Tasmanian Council of Social Service, Mental Health Council of Tasmania, Council on the Ageing (COTA) Tasmania, Shelter Tasmania, Youth Network of Tasmania, Neighbourhood Houses Tasmania, Volunteering Tasmania, Carers Tasmania, Multicultural Council of Tasmania, Alcohol, Tobacco and other Drugs Council (ATDC) Tasmania, Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare, Tasmanian Family and Sexual Violence Alliance, Health Consumers Tasmania, Palliative Care Tasmania, Tasmanian Association of State School Organisations and CREATE Foundation.
For more information, read the letters of support from the Liberals, Labor and the Greens or visit tascoss.org.au/coalition-of-community-service-peaks.