National Media Attention on JobSeeker Cuts
In the final week of 2020 Australian Council of Social Service drew national attention to the Government’s decision to cut the Coronavirus Supplement by another $100 to just $150 a fortnight, effectively slashing the JobSeeker payment to $50/day.
There was extensive coverage from journalists across diverse media platforms. Many people relying on JobSeeker spoke up, and continue to do so. ACOSS worked hard to share this coverage widely and to amplify the voices of people who are struggling to survive on the reduced rate of Jobseeker and Youth Allowance.
Bane Williams wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald how, thanks to the Coronavirus Supplement doubling his JobSeeker payment, “I got to see what life could be like if I didn’t have to worry every day about what I should eat, or if I would even eat at all.” Where he could run his heater, attend a job interview looking presentable. “And then I got to watch as those got taken away from me. Where I had to go back to deciding what was more important — healthy food or being able to afford seeing a professional for my back.”
As Cliff Fraser told 9 News, “I’m not ready to retire, but I feel like I’ve been thrown on the scrap heap.” And Caryn Ryan said in the Guardian, “people (previously) on Newstart or … who lost their jobs through Covid, they can’t survive, let alone live” on $40/day.” Caryn told 7 Sunrise that she had applied for more than 800 jobs which resulted in just three interviews and no job offers. Rita McDonald explained to ABC’s AM, “I have progressively become more and more ill, because Newstart was so low I haven’t been able to eat properly or take my medications,”
and told the ABC evening news, she fears that, “we’ll be thrown back into that poverty trap.” ACOSS called a media conference on 29 December which saw CEO Cassandra Goldie on the evening news on channel Channel 9 News, 7 Sunrise and SBS, and on the 9 Today Show, ABC TV News, ABC AM, ABC RN Breakfast, The Guardian Australia the following morning, urging the Government to increase the base rate of JobSeeker, instead of returning people to the brutal $40/day rate when the Supplement ends in March..
Community Early Learning Australia
Commissioned by CELA – Community Early Learning Australia to research and write articles for their Amplify! Blog and newsletter:
Helping Children & Families Experiencing Trauma
Being EcoSmart – Part 1 and Part 2
Mentoring in Early Childhood
Upcycling Inspirations
Preventing bullying in ECEC
Early Learning, Everyone Benefits Campaign
From 2015-2019 Carolin managed a national collaborative campaign with 27 member organisations to increase access to quality early learning for all Australian children before they start school.
She gained extensive media coverage for campaign initiatives, including two editions of the State of Early Learning in Australia report (2016 and 2017), coordinated Early Learning Matters Week, which saw more than 100 MPs and Senators visit early childhood services across Australia in 2018 and 2019, and impacted political party policies leading up to the 2019 Federal election.
Early Action Report
Carolin developed the advocacy strategy for The Benevolent Society in their 200 the anniversary year,
which focused on the need to increase early intervention strategies for families with children under
five. A key achievement was quality media coverage of the launch of the Acting Early, Changing Lives
report in October 2013 by the Sydney Morning Herald, ABC TV and ABC Radio current affairs
programs, and Mamamia written up in this presentation Making the Worthy Newsworthy for the
Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) CommsDirect forum (2014):
Children’s Safety in Family Law Campaign
In 2011 Carolin led the strategic development of a collaborative campaign to make children’s safety the highest priority in family law cases.
The Children’s Safety First campaign mobilised hundreds of individuals and organisations to make submissions to a parliamentary inquiry, organised a colourful rally on the Federal Parliament Lawn, generated print, radio and TV media coverage and resulted in significant improvements to the Family Law Act in 2012.
