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Australia’s Budget must leave no child behind

By Tony Stuart - posted Tuesday, 30 May 2017


Within education, the main item is support for schools, with expenditure forecast for 2017-18 of $18.2billion, an increase of 6.6% on 2016-17. We note that increases of 5.8%, 6.2%, and 6.1% respectively are forecast for the years from 2018-19 through to 2020-21. UNICEF Australia has welcomed the additional funding provided through Gonski 2.0 and the funding for early childhood development, but would have preferred to see greater front-loading of the Gonski increases.

Two smaller programs should also be noted. Indigenous children and schooling support run through Prime Minister and Cabinet, and the Reconnect program, which supports children and young people who are homeless or at risk.

It is important to recognise that this kind of budget analysis is only part of what we need to look at eventually in overall terms. To see the full range of investment in children in Australia, there also needs to be analysis of the budgets and programs of the states and territories. This is particularly the case with child protection and the justice system. While the periodic reports to the Committee on the Rights of the Child do touch on some programs from these jurisdictions, there is no sense in which we have a clear assessment of the levels of investment.

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This analysis covers only expenditure on children in Australia. Efforts to support children in need outside Australia are reported largely through our overseas development assistance. UNICEF Australia works closely with other organisations in assessing Australian aid to children throughout the world. This assessment will assume greater importance in coming years. There is an unacceptable trend: by 2020 Australian aid will fall to a new, all-time low of just 20 cents in every $100 of national income. This news comes at a time of global humanitarian crisis, as four countries are facing famine, Syrian families are enduring a sixth year of war and more children have been forced from their homes as refugees than ever before in recorded history. Now, more than ever, we need a bipartisan commitment to rebuild Australian aid and reclaim our place as a generous member of the global community.

Across the board, UNICEF Australia and others concerned with children's rights, will continue to strengthen and improve reporting on the Government's impact for children. After all, the most important investment any government can make in Australia's future is through its children.

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About the Author

Tony Stuart is CEO of UNICEF Australia. From 2003 to 2014, he was the Group CEO of National Roads and Motorists Association (NRMA) and prior to that was the CEO of Sydney Airports Corporation Limited. Mr Stuart is the Chair of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) Advisory Board, is a member of Starlight Children's Foundation National Board and is a member of the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals Expert Advisory Panel on Co-operative and Mutual Enterprises and Human Services. Mr Stuart holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Canterbury University. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management.

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

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