What's New
CEO looks back on Families Australia’s recent achievements
In 2008, Families Australia celebrates its seventh year. It is pleasing to look back on considerable achievements in such a relatively short time.
If we look at the Families Australia mandate – to promote the interests of families at the national level – we are now positioned as an influential, independent policy voice in political, public and sectoral arenas. The past 1-2 years have seen us successfully take a leading role in policy areas, such as grandparenting and child protection, where the Commonwealth had previously been reluctant to play a dominant role. We are now regularly contacted by the media.
We have achieved a reputation among many politicians for even-handedness and independence. Our ‘100 Policy Ideas’ were widely read across the political spectrum, and some of the suggestions that we and others advanced were adopted – principally, for a National Child Protection Strategy, a ‘State of the Family’ Report and the creation of an office for work and family. read more
Family Wellbeing Symposium
The National Family Wellbeing Symposium was held in Canberra on 20-21 June 2007.
The Symposium was an initiative of Families Australia, in conjunction with the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at The Australian National University College of Medicine and Health Sciences.
The gathering was being held at a time of growing government, community and academic interest in personal and national wellbeing. However, there is an absence of a widely accepted framework and no forum for specific discussion on family wellbeing to guide research, policy, resource allocation, and evaluation.
The Symposium addressed these gaps, explored the meaning of family wellbeing and built understandings on the main elements of a family wellbeing framework.
The Symposium involved 130 people from a wide range of community, political, government and academic backgrounds.
Presentations from the Symposium and links to further information are available here.
Grandparenting
Families Australia's consultations in late 2006 and 2007 found that many grandparents, especially those with primary caring responsibilities for grandchildren, would benefit from additional financial, social and emotional support, and from better targeted information about how to get help. Families Australia makes 29 recommendations to better support grandparents. read the report and presentations
White Ribbon Day
Families Australia is a proud supporter of White Ribbon Day - the day set aside on 25 November each year in Australia and internationally to highlight the need to eliminate violence against women and children. On White Ribbon Day everyone is encouraged to wear a White Ribbon as a visible sign that the wearer does not support or condone the use of violence against women and children.
White Ribbon Day was created by a group of Canadian men in 1991 on the second anniversary of one man's massacre of 14 women in Montreal. They began a campaign to urge men to speak out about violence against women. In 1999, the UN General Assembly declared November 25 the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW) and the White Ribbon has become the symbol for the day.
Among the many facets of activity for White Ribbon Day, over 230 men have been appointed as White Ribbon Day Ambassadors representing major political parties, the entertainment industry, business, military, police, and the government and community sectors. Families Australia CEO Brian Babington is a White Ribbon Day Ambassador and a member of the White Ribbon Day National Leadership Group. For more information about White Ribbon Day, visit www.whiteribbonday.org.au