CHCCD514A Implement community development strategies
Contents
Topic 1: The structure of Government 3
Australia's system of government 3
Local councils 4
State and Territory Governments 4
Federal government 5
Topic 2: Community development principles and practice 8
Community participation and empowerment 8
Assessing the community’s needs 10
Supporting the case for change — collecting expert evidence of need 12
Community consultation 15
Why consult? 15
Principles to guide a consultative process 16
How to conduct a consultation 16
Strategies to maximise consumer participation 17
Writing up the findings of your community needs assessment 17
Planning and conducting a campaign 18
Public meetings 19
Topic 3: Funding 20
The process 22
Writing the submission 23
Topic 4: Representation, lobbying and advocacy 26
Systems advocacy 26
Principles to be applied by workers engaging in systems advocacy: 28
Initiating a systems advocacy program 29
Working with politicians 30
Lobbying politicians 31
Direct action 33
Petitions 34
Topic 5: Networking and media engagement 36
Opportunities in networking 36
Formal networks 37
Informal networks 37
Interagency collaborations 38
Benefits of developing networks 39
Ways of encouraging networking 39
The Do’s and Don’ts of networking 40
Maintaining the interagency network 42
Dealing with the media 42
Media releases 43
Media interviews 44
Creating a media list 45
Topic 6: Meetings and meeting procedures 46
Managing the interagency meeting 46
Running a one-off meeting 48
Managing difficult behaviour 50
Topic 1: The structure of Government
As you empower the community to take action on community services issues, it will be useful to steer the action towards appropriate targets.
For this reason you should be familiar with the tiers of government and the responsibilities of each tier. Your work will be more effective if it is well-directed.
Paul Adabie
Manager, Newtown Neighbourhood Centre / Paul says…
I think first of all, community workers must have an understanding of government: how government works and different levels of government.
It’s important to understand the state’s responsibilities and areas of influence: what departments they have and what their briefs are. What do DADHC (NSW Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care) and DoCS (NSW Department of Community Services) do?
All community workers must understand the systems of governance in their services.
Australia's system of government
Australia has three spheres or types of government: federal, state and local. The federal government covers the whole of Australia. There are six State and two Territory governments. Within each State and the Northern Territory, there are over 600 local councils, each of which has responsibilities for looking after its local area.
Today, each sphere of government has an elected body that makes key decisions. Each has been established to respond to the needs of the people for the area it covers and in the specific areas in which it operates.
Some service areas involve all three levels of Government — eg all three levels of Government play a role in the provision of health care.
Local councils
Your local council is established to support and represent your local community and to reflect the unique characteristics of your area. Councils plan for the future of communities, raise issues with other governments and provide a range of services that may differ from area to area.
Councils can make local laws but operate within a legal framework set up by State and Territory governments. They raise most of their funds from rates on local land and buildings. The leader of the council is usually known as the mayor. Services include:
· environmental protection
· recycling and rubbish collection
· libraries
· development approvals
· building roads and footpaths
· parks and gardens
· traffic and parking control
· sports facilities
· community centres
· aged care facilities.
State and Territory Governments
State and Territory Governments are responsible for most of the laws affecting citizens as well as many public services.
State Governments can make laws in any area not given to the Federal Government by the Australian Constitution. They raise funds from a variety of business and transaction taxes such as stamp duty. The leader of an Australian State is the Premier and of a Territory is the Chief Minister. Responsibilities include:
· law enforcement — eg police
· judicial system — eg courts and prisons
· infrastructure — eg building and maintaining the State’s highways
· education — eg building and maintaining schools (note: there is currently a program to nationalise the curriculum ie what is taught in schools across the country; the federal government is also influencing education through its infrastructure spending initiatives)
· health — public hospitals (note: the federal government is also asserting influence in the health system)
· utilities such as water and power supply.
Your who's who of the NSW State Parliament
Ministries relevant to the Community Services sector include:
DET: Department of Education and Training (includes TAFE NSW)
DoCS: Department of Community Services
DADHC: Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care
Legal Aid Commission of NSW
NSW Department of Health (includes agencies to support workers in mental health and AOD)
NSW Department of Housing
NSW Department of Juvenile Justice
NSW Department of Corrective Services
Office for Children (including the NSW Commission for Children and Young People and the Children’s Guardian)
Federal government
The federal or national government is also called the Commonwealth of Australia. It raises most of its funds from income tax. The leader of the Federal Government is called the Prime Minister. The Federal Government meets in Canberra, the national capital.
The Federal Government’s job is to decide on matters which affect the whole country, such as:
· foreign affairs
· defence
· trade
· telecommunications
· postal services
· social services
· currency
· banking
· immigration
· national highways
· social welfare eg unemployment benefits and pensions.
Your who's who of the federal Parliament
When trying to gain traction for an issue, you will need to have an awareness of who’s who in the federal parliamentary system. Consider the following:
- Members of Parliament — currently, there are 150* electorates across Australia, each devised to represent roughly the same number of people. Each of these has a representative elected to a seat in the lower house of the federal government (ie the House of Representatives) during the Australian general election held every 3 years. These people will often be your first and most useful port of call as they are elected to represent the concerns of their local electorate.
They are required to live in the electorate they represent and should have some local knowledge and interest in representing their electorate’s concerns. They will have a local office and staff though much of their time is spent in the federal Parliament at Canberra. To find out who is your local MP, go to the Australian Government website: http://www.aph.gov.au/house
- Senators — in addition to the 150* elected members of the lower house, there are 76 representatives elected to the upper house (ie the Senate) and known as senators. Each State has 12 and each Territory has 2, all elected for a period of 6 years. To find out who are your State’s Senators, go to the Australian Government website: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate
- Government Ministers — from its elected members in either the upper or lower house, the Government of the day will appoint its Ministers to head the various ministries. To find out the current Minister of a key ministry, go to the Australian Government website: www.Australia.gov.au .
Ministries relevant to the Community Services sector include:
DEEWR: Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (includes the Ministry for Social Inclusion)
FaHCSIA: Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs
DoHaA: Department of Health and Ageing
Department of Human Services (includes the administration of Centrelink, Medicare and the Child Support Agency)
DIAC: Department of Immigration and Citizenship
DVA: Department of Veterans’ Affairs
- Cabinet — this is the inner circle of Ministers appointed by the Prime Minister. It is a very powerful group which decides the Government’s policy and key directions.
- Opposition MPs — these are the elected representatives whose party is in the minority and therefore ‘in Opposition (to the Government)’. If a letter goes to the government from an Opposition MP, it will be dealt with faster than if it just came from a member of the public.
- Minor parties/Independents — these are representatives who are not aligned to either major political party. When these groups hold a balance of power, they command an unusual amount of political influence.
- Parliamentary Standing Committees — these are made up of groups of MPs from both sides of the House who recommend policy, hold inquiries and call for public submissions. These can be a very good vehicle for change but be prepared to wait. Some of their hearings can go on for months or even years.
- Ministerial staff — every Minister appoints their own staff to handle day-to-day aspects of political life such as media, policy, speechwriting, political advice and appointments. The Minister depends on these staff and they are potentially very influential in furthering your cause.
- Department heads — these are top level public servants appointed by the Government of the day. Every Government department has to submit an annual report to Parliament which has an organisational chart and other valuable information. You can also use the Commonwealth Directory for contacts. Departments prepare briefings for ministers on issues relevant to their portfolio.
- Parliamentary Secretaries — this group of, usually, junior members of parliament acts as executive assistants to Ministers.
Given the jurisdiction of Government, lobbying politicians and working with them to effect change is an important part of your work as a community services worker.
*The number of and areas covered by electoral boundaries is a source of constant change and debate in Australian politics.
Topic 2: Community development principles and practice
One of the most important principles in community services work is that of community participation. The aim of participation is to empower the group/community with the requisite knowledge and skills.
The practice of empowerment involves the development of opportunities and the support of groups and communities to participate in a process in which they have a powerful role.
Community participation and empowerment
Paul Adabie
Manager, Newtown Neighbourhood Centre / Paul says…
Within the government, within the states, within the services within housing, within the criminal justice system, there are lots of things that aren’t right — where lots of human rights are abused and lots of areas where society can do better.
Community action and community groups such as ours can recognise those gaps or those fault lines, and work with people to try and get some sort of improvement in those areas.
An example is the boarding houses: In boarding houses right now, people have no tenancy rights. They can be asked to leave at a moment’s notice. They can have no overnight visitors or guests. They can’t have a private life and their privacy is often invaded.
There should be some laws stopping that, and some enforcement of the law to stop that, but often it’s not being enforced, or the laws aren’t there.
So working with like-minded groups and individuals, action groups can develop systems and solutions to help the residents.
The benefits of public participation
There are many benefits to public participation in any kind of community development initiative. Some are obvious; other less so. Consider the following:
· Decisions can be more effective if the needs and experiences of the clients are sought.
· A broader range of threats to the campaign can be revealed.
· Creates incentives to produce safe and effective products (services) and ensure safe work practices.
· Can reveal poor work practices, and ensure there is no gain for shoddy work.
Empowerment
Empowerment is about:
· power over resources finances and human
· power of information
· power in the decision making process.
Consider these current definitions of ‘empowerment’:
— "Empowerment is a process of increasing personal, interpersonal and political power so that individuals can take action to improve their lives." (Lorraine Gutierrez, 1991)
— "Empowerment is a process through which people and their communities gain mastery over their lives." (Christopher Brown, 1988)
People can participate in community processes by:
· lobbying parliamentarians and relevant regulatory bodies — eg the NSW Ombudsman
· making complaints — eg about defective products or services
· writing public letters — eg to local newspapers
· writing private letters — eg to members of parliament or other community leaders or persons/groups of influence
· participating in consultation opportunities
· participating in public meetings, rallies, signing petitions, providing case studies
· asking questions — eg in parliament during question time or in other public forums such as the ABC TV show “Q&A”
· attending delegations to key people — eg members of parliament.
Paul Adabie
Manager, Newtown Neighbourhood Centre / Paul says…
Going out and getting petitions signed isn’t as difficult as one would imagine really.
The people in the street are aware of the issues in their area. So the general public on the street support our efforts.
It’s all about getting the numbers and getting the petitions and getting the politicians to write letters on your behalf and to keep pressure on. That is where the change gets made.
Working with other groups becomes more powerful obviously. Linking up with two or three other groups can make a big difference.
Assessing the community’s needs
Community groups are usually formed when members of the community consider there is a need that must be met.