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AYPAC condemns Government response on Youth Homeless report
Download PDF Australian Youth Policy tAction Coalition Inc. Ele.d-t~r?'S.. / c/,.._,~- Is>o~
AYPAC condemns Government The peak national youth affairs
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(Friday December 1st for immediate release)
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The Australian Youth Policy and Action Coalition, AYPAC, Independent Chairperson,
Paul Rajan, said today that, "A YP AC was bitterly disappointed with the Federal
Government response to the Morris report on youth homelessness tabled in Parliament
today. It announced no new initiatives, no new policies, no new programs and allocated
no additional resources to tackle youth homelessness. It avoided all the hard issues on
youth policy co-ordination, implementing the Convention of the Rights of the Child,
integrating youth income support into a common department, preferably Social
Sec~rity, and develop~g ~ditional accommodation options. It then encourages State
and Territories to deliver strong responses when it has been weak and indecisive."
The Morris report, 'Inquiry into Aspeds of Youth Homelessness', Rajan said
"contained 129 recommendations ranging from simplification of income support
arrangements_ for homeless young people to the establishment of a National Child and
Youth Bureau and provided a comprehensive blueprint for addressing the escalating
problem of youth homelessness. It heard evidence that youth homelessness had doubled
from around 9,000 in 1991 to 21,000 in 1994. Despite the weight of evidence
presented the Federal Government had failed to deliver. By delaying its response it had
raised expectations that finally the Government would show leaders~p and seriously
tackle youth homelessness. Instead it had ensured the Morris report would take its place
on the dusty shelves with all the ~ther inquiries and reports on homeless young people",
said Rajan
AYPAC Executive Officer Julian Pocock, said "the Government had requested
additional time to prepare its response and had used that time to prepare a long list of
excuses which it cites as Government initiatives . It ignores the basic fact that in spite of
these programs at least 21,000 young people arc homeless. A YP AC recognises that
initiatives listed in the report arc positive but they are pre existing programs and
polices, not new initiatives. Thus rather then map out a strategy to address the problem
the Government response suggests it has the situation in hand when clearly it doesn't ."
AYPAC Young Spokesperson David Matthew's said that, 11 The Government response was in itself a
prefect illustration of the need f?r an office of youth affairs in Prime Minister and Cabinet to develop
and co-ordinate youth policy. The Government response to the inquiry was prepared by the DEET
Youth Bureau which is illequiped, poorly resourced and badly placed to co-ordinate within DEET let
alone across the entire Government. The paltry nature of the response is evidence of that. 11
Matthew's concluded by saying that 11 the issue of youth homelessness will continue be a key focus for
the youth sector in the Federal election campaign. The Federal Government response had failed young
homeless people and if this all they can expect from Labor, Labor had better not be counting on the
support of young people. 11
Rajan said, "the Federal Government's response should have included;
" a single integrated assessment and income support system for homeless young people to replace the systems currently split between DSS and DEET,
" re establishment of a specific program to assist homeless young people based on the highly successful, Jobs Placement Employment and Training program, JPET, abolished in the last Federal budget,
" establishment of a national youth policy co-ordination mechanism within the Commonwealth Government such as an office of youth affairs within Prime Minister and Cabinet,
" an immediate increase in the availability of voluntary family mediation services within the community as an early intervention strategy to combat family breakdown,
" income support provided by the Federal Government be available to homeless young people from age 15 and increases in benefits upto the poverty line,
" expansion of the Federal Government Students at Risk program to provide assistance to young people at risk of not completing school and alternatives for those young people to complete their secondary education outside the traditional school setting,
" focussing on early intervention and prevention by establishing minimum levels for provision of school counsellors ad welfare staff in both primary and secondary schools as a condition of Commonwealth grant to the States and Territories
MEDIA CONTACTS
PAUL RAJAN- AYPAC CHAIRPERSON phone (w) 09 228 0808 mobile 041 992 6641 please note this Is a Perth number and there Is 3 hour time difference
JULIAN-POCOCK- AYPAC EXECUTIVE OFFICER phone (w) 06 24 71666 (h) 06 24 7 8969 fax 06 24 7 1799
DAVID MATIHEWS- AYPAC YOUNG SPOKESPERSON phone (w) 06 257 7433 or mobile 015 102 416
