2008 - A year in review
Christmas 2008 seems as good a time as any to return to the Blog for a critical look at social inclusion and community development in Launceston and to express my hopes for the future.I wouldn't characterise 2008 as a particularly good year in the fight against poverty and exclusion in Tasmania. As always there's been a lot of talk, but very little substantive action - even in the areas where new money has been announced much of it is still to find its way out of the doors of the Treasury. Homelessness, social housing, school attendance, literacy and numeracy, suicide prevention, mental health and family support are all areas of service delivery that remain in need of increased, intensive and genuine community activity.
I'd like to reiterate at the outset of this article that I believe that social exclusion is generated by the actions and inactions of everyone in society and that consequently all elements of that society, including the business sector and individual Tasmanians, as well as Governments, have a responsibility to participate in the fight against it.
Without question, the most pressing problem for many Tasmanians is our relative poverty compared with mainland Australians. Employment is the best protection against poverty and social exclusion. As I've said elsewhere in this Blog, I feel strongly that community development must ultimately be underpinned by sustainable economic development. Consequently, I applaud the strong growth of recent years which has resulted in significant improvements to the welfare of many Tasmanians, particularly the long term unemployed.
However economic growth alone is not enough, and is never likely to be enough, to overcome entrenched disadvantage.
The benefits of a stronger Tasmanian economy haven’t been enjoyed universally across the community, especially for those on low incomes who haven’t been able to access the labour market or improved wages due to disability or lack of educational attainment, and who have been squeezed by decreasing housing affordability and a rising cost of living.
Looking back on my last post made over a year ago, the issues I'd identified then remain just as critical to combating poverty and reducing the levels of human suffering in Launceston today. Significantly though, there's one additional priority that I'd identify. Such is my new found understanding of its importance that I'd elevate it to the top of my list.
That issue is education; at its most basic, literacy and numeracy.
50% of Tasmanians are allegedly functionally illiterate. Assuming that that is true, and there's nothing in my personal experience to suggest it isn't; it's a shocking statistic given that we are living in the Information Age. Ignoring the cost in terms of diminished personal and economic potential for the individual and the Tasmanian community; how hard must it be cope in a society where you are either excluded from, or struggle to participate in, the full range of social, cultural, employment and educational opportunities that are on offer? How can we accept the development of a class system where those who don't have access to information are effectively second class citizens?
So if improved educational attainment is such a crucial protective factor and offers an alternate pathway to a lifetime of poverty, why isn't our existing system producing literate young adults and what can be done to boost the outcomes we are achieving for the many that our current practices fail?
No doubt the AEU would argue that it is all down to teaching resources and that more teachers would drastically improve literacy and numeracy outcomes.
As an outsider I see this as a conveniently simplistic answer to complex issues. I view the issue from a very different perspective.
I'm often shocked and disappointed by the numbers of vulnerable young people that I encounter who are completely disengaged from education, sometimes by upper primary school age.
The majority of these young people come from homes where education is not valued or parents simply don't have the capacity to support their kid's learning skills because they themselves were raised in disadvantaged communities where negative sub cultures prevail and positive role models are hard to find. These students are almost always experiencing conflicts in the school environment (be it with peers, older students, or teachers and the prevailing disciplinary system).
There are no easy answers to changing cultural attitudes towards the value of education but I do believe that it is incumbent on the Government to invest in community education campaign to make more Tasmanians aware of the protective value of literacy and numeracy against poverty.
Fortunately with regard to the second factor, there are existing practice models that offer better ways of handling conflict than the prevailing system which is founded on the principle of exclusion (of both bully and bullied).
My experience is that young people become excluded from school either through their own behaviours or through the actions and/or inactions of others. I cannot stress strongly enough how prevalent bullying is in schools, and how many young people become school refusers and drift away from education when the issue isn’t addressed well in their individual school. Often this disengagement is slow, punctuated by increasingly frequent absences and growing animosity towards the school by parents who feel totally unsupported in a time of crisis.
Bullying is in urgent need of address, but I don't support the current policies of suspensions and exclusions simply because it is unproductive and merely adds further names to the education casualty lists.
Like minded colleagues and I have come to the conclusion that the answer lies in a radical shift in the disciplinary policies in public schools towards Restorative Practice (RP). We need to keep people in schools, not exclude them.
There is a growing body of evidence in the literature in support of Restorative Practice in schools. This is complimented by positive anecdotal reports from the forward thinking educators who have implemented Restorative Practice in this State (mainly in Southern Tasmania). It is time for RP to become a formal policy approach of Government and not left to the discretion of individual school leaders.
So my hope for 2009 is that RP becomes a part of school and community life in Launceston, so that we can keep more young people engaged and learning.
If you're interested in learning more about RP and its place in schools please see:
International Institute for Resporative Practices , or
Restorative Practices International, or
www.parliament.act.gov.au/downloads/submissions/RJ%2004.1%20Circle%20Speak%20attachement%201.pdf
As we end 2008 homelessness and the lack of affordable housing throughout the State is another high priority issue for the Tasmanian Government and community. Stable and appropriate housing is the basis for health, well being and participation.
This is a supply driven crisis so the answer is obviously to increase supply.
The Government has committed $60 million dollars to the cause. Rather than continually re announcing that commitment as occurred throughout 2008; 2009 must be characterised by construction activity on the ground.
Aside from actualising this investment in social housing, including public housing, the Tasmanian Government must take a leadership role in planning to ensure that infill development opportunities are maximised in our major cities (such that the corridors of exclusion leading to our poorly located broadacre public housing estates are bridged by mixed housing, prior to further peripheral expansion of our cities). This is not only socially responsible, it is also environmentally responsible policy (i.e. reduced commuting, greater population density for public transport viability etc).
So my hope for 2009 will be genuine leadership in housing, not more of the rhetoric that has stalled progress over the past 3 years.
Breaking the homelessness cycle is contingent on the availability of appropriate support in the community, as implicitly recognised in the endorsement of the Common Ground housing model.
As the current state of play stands, I don’t believe that adequate community resources exist in the areas of mental health, disability services or family support services to ensure the quality of life and participation of some of the most vulnerable Tasmanians. The temptation in 2009 will be to cut services in response to the global financial crisis, but despite the misguided views of the TCCI there is virtually no fat to trim in front line service areas. Cuts in these areas will desperately affect the most vulnerable Tasmanians and must not be allowed to occur.
Undoubtedly Tasmania is a more tolerant community than it was, say just 10 years ago. And yet the published letters to The Examiner in 2008 underscore the fact that intolerance in the form of racism (particularly towards Aboriginals), religious bigotry and homophobia are still rife in Northern Tasmania. I was particularly affected this year by a letter from a young 23 year old gay guy that came at the end of a vicious debate in which homosexuals were characterised as perverted and unwelcome in Tasmanian society. This man said he could never come out to his former class mates or current work mates as he knew their deep prejudices very well having heard them for years. Sad as this is, it was probably a wise decision since I read this week that Rodney Croome has said Tasmanian gays and lesbians were twice as likely to be harassed and bullied in the workplace than their mainland brothers and sisters. Way to go Tassie, no wonder our schools are full of bullies and we continue to have such dreadful suicide rates.
In response to this "Year of Bigotry" I've waged another (unsuccessful) mini-campaign to lobby the Editor of The Examiner, Fiona Reynolds, to either stop printing letters that promote intolerance and hatred or change The Examiner's Mission Statement from the somewhat hypocritical "To produce a quality newspaper that builds its community.". I haven't even had a courtesy letter in reply but I guess I'll take up the fight again in 2009. Will you join me the next time you see an offensive letter published? freynolds@examiner.com.au
Not everything about 2008 has been bad though. One positive example is Zions Hill Church's "Beyond the Box" youth initiative in Ravenswood (which I promise to write more on in the New Year). Another is a very good response by the Gaming Commission to the Social and Economic Impact of Gambling report, which suggested some good strategies for further controls on poker machine gaming. The test for 2009 will be to see if the Treasurer has any desire to act on these recommendations.
So plenty to fight for in social justice in Launceston in 2009. Merry Christmas from a Buddhist and I hope you arrive renewed and ready to rejoin the fray in the New Year.
Labels: Restorative Practice
posted by Alan Melton @ 3:26 pm
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