Media Releases by Senator the Hon Amanda Vanstone
Record Support for People with Disabilities
Changes in this Budget will see significantly more support and greater opportunities for people with disabilities to help them participate in work and in the…
Australians Have Their Say on Welfare Reform
I am pleased to release the report on the community consultations on Australians Working Together (AWT). The Government has placed a strong emphasis on the…
Big Budget Boost for Families and Communities
The Government will provide an additional $843 millionas part of the Federal Budget to fund five key initiatives in the Family and Community Services Portfolio.…
Strengthening the Integrity of Australia’s Welfare System
New compliance measures in the Budget will provide estimated net savings of $275 million over the next four years by identifying incorrect welfare payments and…
Australia Pursuing Four New International Social Security Agreements
As a priority the Howard Government will seek to finalise new social security agreements with Croatia, Norway, Slovenia and Switzerland, as part of its continuing…
Funding Boost Marks National Volunteer Week
In celebration of Volunteers Week I am pleased to announce funding of $1.6 million over four years to Volunteering Australia (VA) to help expand volunteer…
Educational campaign results in anonymous $3,500 cheque
The educational campaign, Support the System that Supports You, has achieved an unexpected outcome in the form of an anonymous $3,500 cheque. Last week, a…
Children Need Our Care, Not More Bureaucracy
Labor’s policy recycling has continued with Simon Crean’s rehashed proposal for a National Children’s Commission. The proposal for a Commissioner has been around for years…
Visit To Vietnam By Senator Amanda Vanstone
The Minister for Family and Community Services, Senator Amanda Vanstone, is visiting Hanoi from 22 – 23 April 2002. This is the first visit to…
Aboriginal Housing Boost
In its last Budget, the Howard Government announced the first real increase in Indigenous housing in ten years to help address serious housing issues in…
Centrelink’s commitment to reconciliation
Centrelink has shown great support for Indigenous Australians with its Statement of Commitment to Reconciliation (see attached). The Statement outlines Centrelink’s commitment to both its…
New Ads: Supporting the System that Supports You
Australia has one of the best social security systems in the world. It is there to help people through difficult times and to improve the…
400 New Personal Advisers To Help Needy Australians
Centrelink has started advertising today for over 400 Personal Adviser positions as an important part of the Australians Working Together welfare reform package. These new…
Sole Parents Deserve Praise and Support
“Sole parents are one the most maligned groups in our society,” Senator Vanstone said today at the Towards Opportunity and Prosperity conference in Melbourne. “We…
Reporting on FTB debts inaccurate
News reports this morning on the number of families with FTB (Family Tax Benefit) debts are not correct. There has notbeen a ‘five-fold increase in…
New voices to speak up for Australians with a disability
Today I am pleased to announce the appointment of several new members to the National Disability Advisory Council, the Government’s community-based advisory group on disability…
Centrelink – Helping Multicultural Australia
Today’s launch of Centrelink’s strategy for delivering services to customers of non-English speaking backgrounds is another example of the agency’s commitment to provide excellent customer…
New Peak Body for Australian Families
Today’s launch of the new peak body, Families Australia, will mean that the interests of families, young people and children in Australia are better represented.…
Tracking 10,000 Toddlers
Ten thousand toddlers will be tracked over nearly a decade in groundbreaking research on the lives of Australian children. The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children…
New Indigenous Women’s Advisory Group
I am pleased to announce the launch of a new advisory group designed to further enhance the Commonwealth Government’s work with indigenous women. The 13-member…
Pensions up $11.30 per fortnight
Today I am pleased to announce that from 20 March 2002 there will be a further increase in adult pensions and allowances which will benefit…
‘Independent’ breaching report old news
I am pleased that many of the recommendations made by Professor Pearce on breaching are consistent with much of the good work that Centrelink is…
Celebrating a Centenary of Suffrage on International Women’s Day – 8 March 2002
Each year on 8 March, International Women’s Day gives us the opportunity to reflect on the achievements of Australian women. This year we have a…
Deeming Rates Drop
I am pleased to announce that around 600,000 pensioners will see an increase in their payment because of a cut to the social security deeming…
Breaching rules change to protect the vulnerable
I am pleased to announce a number of significant changes to the Government’s breaching rules that will help our most vulnerable job seekers, while keeping…