Catholic Social Services Australia has welcomed reports the Albanese May Budget will focus on entrenched disadvantage in the most vulnerable Australian communities.
In a podcast with the Guardian Australia and a major essay published today in the Monthly magazine Treasurer Jim Chalmers says he is working with the Social Services Minister, Amanda Rishworth, to make a meaningful difference for some of Australia’s most vulnerable communities.
Chair of Catholic Social Services Australia, Francis Sullivan says the signalling coming from the Government bodes well for Australia’s millions of disadvantaged.
“For a decade we have been waiting for a treasurer who is prepared to put vulnerable and disadvantaged communities at the centre of a Federal Budget.
“We particularly welcome comments from the Treasurer that Albanese Government’s core mission is to redefine and reform our economy and institutions to make communities more resilient.
“While we will need to wait till May for the Budget to see the extent of the Government’s commitment to underprivileged communities this is the first time in many years we have heard a government talk so positively about its approach to reimaging engaging with the underprivileged.”
In his essay, the Treasurer says he wants to expand the opportunity for “impact investing” across the social purpose economy – meaning the aged care, education, and disability sectors.
The Treasurer told Guardian Australia’s podcast addressing entrenched disadvantage was “a decade-long passion” grounded in growing up in Logan – an outer urban area with pockets of socioeconomic disadvantage and the area he represents as a federal parliamentarian.
CSSA supports government plans to address entrenched disadvantage, The Catholic Leader
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