As flagged in our last eBulletin edition, the call for abstracts for the FRSA 2025 Annual Conference has just opened (see more). The 2025 Conference theme is Safe, Strong and Thriving and it will be held at the Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park on 19-22 May 2025. And a reminder – the call for abstracts for the FRSA Child Inclusive Practice Forum is also open. The Forum will be held in Canberra, 18-19 February 2025.
It’s been a huge and challenging week for our nation. Monday 14 October marked one year since the Australian electorate voted ‘no’ in a national referendum for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, causing disappointment and hurt for so many. A year on, however, support for First Nations self-determination is strong, building on the 6.2 million people across the country who voted ‘yes’ in 2023. There is hope. As Megan Davis, one of the architects of the Uluru Statement from the Heart said, an Indigenous Voice is “an idea whose time will come”. I take this opportunity to reiterate FRSA’s commitment to reconciliation and to an Indigenous Voice. Our vision is an Australia in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities are safe, recognised, respected and valued.
This week is Anti-poverty week (13-19 October), which supports the Australian community to have an increased understanding of poverty and to act collectively to end it. I note that Australian Children’s Commissioners, Guardians and Advocates have released a statement calling on Australian governments to address structural barriers that contribute to poverty. The joint statement notes that “Child poverty can be overcome. Australian governments have the power and resources to stop it. The persistence of child poverty in Australia – a modern and thriving nation – is indefensible.” FRSA agrees. Australia is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, yet more than one in eight adults and one in six children in Australia live in poverty. With the right policy settings and the collective will of the Australian people, we can change this.
It is also National Carers Week and FRSA joins in recognising and celebrating Australia’s 3 million carers who everyday balance caring for family members and friends with work, study and managing their own health and wellbeing.
