July 2021
Father Mick is Mount Isa’s priest with a purpose
Media Article 25 July 2021 It's just 4 degrees outside on a chilly Mount Isa morning. The bright pink cloud formations unique to the state's north-west are already dominating the broad Queensland sky. Nine-year-old Kevin is tucking into a cup of Milo in the kitchen of Mount Isa's youth hub. He's also had a hot shower and bacon and...
Monique Earsman named CSSA’s new Executive Director
Media Release 21 July 2021 Monique Earsman, whose working life has included roles in the federal and ACT parliaments and within the Catholic Church, has been named the new executive director of Catholic Social Services Australia. Ms Earsman joined Catholic Social Services Australia last year, serving as executive officer to Ursula Stephens, who stepped down from the...
Vaccines for disability care workers protect the vulnerable
Media Release 11 July 2021 The national body representing Catholic social service agencies has backed a proposal to make COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for disability care workers, saying it will keep a vulnerable group of Australians safer. Among the more than 50 members of Catholic Social Services Australia, disability care is one of the most common services provided....
May 2021
Proposed changes could threaten charities’ free speech
Media Release 10 May 2021 Catholic Social Services Australia is deeply concerned that new regulations could silence charities’ advocacy on behalf of vulnerable groups for fear of having their charitable status revoked. The Australian Parliament is expected to soon consider the expansion of one of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission’s governance standards. CSSA chief executive officer Dr...
April 2021
CSSA pays tribute to departing Chief Executive Officer
Media Release 30 April 2021 Catholic Social Service Australia chair Francis Sullivan says departing CEO Ursula Stephens has guided the organisation admirably through a period of change, and will be sorely missed as she takes up a new role. Dr Stephens has today been announced as the new CEO of Australian Catholic Safeguarding Ltd, the company established...
Are we all in this together?
1 April 2021 Article by Ursula Stephens, as published in Eureka Street At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the government reassured Australia ‘We’re all in this together’ but the truth is that the end of JobKeeper and the Coronavirus supplement payments will leave more than 2.6 million people in poverty. The end of the $90 billion...
March 2021
More children will suffer under ‘unjust’ JobSeeker payment
Media Release 19 March 2021 Catholic Social Service Australia has denounced the Government’s JobSeeker legislation, which will set the JobSeeker payment at just $44 a day from next week, saying it will push families into poverty. “More than three million people are affected by this decision, which will see almost one million children condemned to living below...
February 2021
The value of the worker
25 February 2021 Article by Ursula Stephens, as published in Eureka Street 'It's the value of the work, not the worker.' So said a government backbencher to me last week while I was speaking to him about the omnibus industrial relations (IR) Bill that has just passed the House of Representatives. He went on to argue that his...
