About Anti-Poverty Week

Anti-Poverty Week was established in Australia as an expansion of the UN's annual International Anti-Poverty Day on October 17.

The main aims of Anti-Poverty Week are to:

  • strengthen public understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty and hardship around the world and in Australia;
  • encourage research, discussion and action to address these problems, including action by individuals, communities, organisations and governments.

Everyone who is interested in helping to reduce poverty and hardship here or overseas is encouraged to organise their own activities during the Week or join in some being organised by other people. The activities can be large or small, and events at the local level are especially welcome.

Future dates for Anti-Poverty Week: 16-22 October 2011

Facilitating Group

The National Facilitating Group for Anti-Poverty Week includes representatives from more than twenty major national organisations and social welfare services which are actively involved in efforts to reduce poverty and hardship in Australia and overseas. There is also a Facilitating Group in each State and Territory.

The National Co-Chairs are Lynn Arnold (Anglicare SA) and Julian Disney (Social Justice Project).

The State and Territory Co-Chairs for 2010 are listed below (See also: Contact Details).

Australian Capital Territory
Gordon Ramsay
Ministry Team Leader,
UnitingCare Kippax
Hilary Martin
Chief Executive Officer,
Marymead Child & Family Centre
New South Wales
Bernard Boerma
Chief Executive Officer,
CatholicCare
Maree O'Halloran
Director,
Welfare Rights Centre
Northern Territory
Sharon Mullholland
Executive Director,
Red Cross NT
 
Queensland
Tracy Adams
Director,
Chief Executive Officer,
Boystown
Michael Tizard
State Manager,
Benevolent Society
South Australia
Hamilton Calder
State Director,
Committee for the Economic Development of Australia
Graham Jaeschke
General Manager for SA,
The Smith Family
Victoria
Julie Edwards
Chief Executive Officer,
Jesuit Social Services
Maj David Eldridge
Territorial Social Program Director,
Salvation Army
Tasmania
John Hooper
Executive Officer,
Tasmanian Association of Community Housing
Therese Taylor
Chief Executive Officer,
Colony 47
Western Australia
Sue Ash
Executive Director,
WACOSS
Gordon Trewern
Chief Executive Officer,
Nulsen Haven Association


A Summary of Anti-Poverty Week 2009

Activities During the Week

More than 400 activities were registered on our website for Anti-Poverty Week 2009 which was about 15% higher than in the previous year. This continued an unbroken sequence of major growth in each year since the Week began in 2002 with just four activities. Undoubtedly there were many other activities during the Week in 2009 of which we are unaware.

At least 500 organisations convened or sponsored an activity during Anti-Poverty Week 2009. They included welfare agencies, community centres, overseas aid organisations, religious groups, schools, TAFEs, universities, businesses, unions, hospitals, youth groups, housing organisations, media outlets, sporting groups, local councils and government departments. People from hundreds of other organisations attended at least one event.

Activities during the Week in 2009 included one or more of the following:

  • speech, lecture, oration, sermon, presentation, interview
  • meeting, forum, debate, resolution, seminar, conference, demonstration
  • training session, cooking class, information stall, display, expo
  • workshop, readings, school class, school project, teaching materials
  • report, survey, information pack, petition, postcard, poster
  • religious service, festival, film night, exhibition, art show, activity day
  • walk, bicycle ride, bus tour, parachute jump, stand up, football match
  • award, competition, concert, children's entertainment
  • barbecue, breakfast, tea, lunch, dinner, trivia night, sleep-out
  • meal service, night patrol, food collection, donation.

The Prime Minister spoke at one event during the Week and his wife, Therese Rein, spoke at another. A number of Commonwealth and State Ministers also participated. Launches and openings during the Week included a directory, booklet, report, financial counselling service, meal service, jobs program, cookbook, food barn and information pack.

Further details of activities are available at www.antipovertyweek.org.au

Participants and Venues

The number of activities during the Week has become too large to make reliable estimates of the total number of participants. However, it seems that hundreds of people spoke at activities and many more than ten thousand people participated in them. Participants included people from a very wide range of fields, including social welfare, religion, politics, health, education, housing, business, sport, the arts, economics, law and the media.

Activities were held in each State and Territory. About 35% took place in or near the centre of a capital city, 35% in an outer suburb and 30% in a regional city or country town. Venues for activities included:

  • Parliament House, town hall, government office, council office
  • welfare agency, community centre, youth centre, hospital
  • cathedral, church, church hall, university, TAFE, school, library
  • cinema, auditorium, gallery, football stadium, oval
  • cafĂ©, hotel, restaurant, shopping centre, business office
  • street, mall, market, park, bus stop.

Media References

We know of about 450 media references to activities undertaken as part of the Week. About two-thirds of them were in radio or television outlets (of which about 45% were in commercial outlets, about 30% were on television and about 20% were greater than two minutes in duration). The other one-third of recorded references were in newspaper articles, of which about 25% were more than 500 words in length. About 50% of electronic references and about 50% of print references were in media outlets based outside capital cities.

Coordination

he Week was loosely coordinated through a National Facilitating Group with an honorary National Chair and a part-time National Coordinator, both based at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. The State and Territory Co-Chairs were the heads or senior managers of the following organisations:

  • Anglicare (SA)
  • Holyoake (WA)
  • Jesuit Social Services (Vic)
  • Liquor, Hospitality, Miscellaneous Union (Tas)
  • Marymead Child and Family Centre (ACT)
  • Melbourne Citymission
  • Mission Australia (Qld)
  • NSW Council of Social Service
  • Red Cross (NT)
  • SA Council of Social Service
  • Tasmanian Association of Community Housing
  • UnitingCare Burnside (NSW)
  • UnitingCare Centre for Social Justice (Qld)
  • UnitingCare Kippax (ACT)
  • WA Council of Social Service

Resources

This year the effectiveness of the Week was greatly strengthened by the generous support of our three Principal National Sponsors:

  • COMMUNITY SECTOR BANKING
  • JOBS AUSTRALIA
  • RED CROSS

Valuable assistance was also provided by our Key National Sponsors:

  • Australian Education Union
  • Australian Nursing Federation
  • Care Australia
  • Liquor, Hospitality, Miscellaneous Workers Union
  • Mission Australia
  • Salvation Army
  • St Vincent de Paul

Total expenditure at the national level was approximately $75,000, of which about 50% was on posters, booklets and other promotional material and one-third was on remuneration for the part-time National Coordinator. The remainder was expended mainly on the website, media monitoring, travel, postage and office expenses. Crucial in-kind support was provided by UnitingCare Wesley Adelaide, which handled the Week's finances at the national level.

A number of the State Co-Chairs obtained assistance from donors for activities within their States as well as providing in-kind support from their own organisations. Most individual activities during the Week were funded by the respective organisers or by donations obtained directly by them.

Some cities, towns and suburbs in which activities were held during the Week:

  • Adelaide
  • Hobart
  • Brisbane
  • Melbourne
  • Canberra
  • Perth
  • Darwin
  • Sydney
  • Aberfoyle Park
  • Anula
  • Ballarat
  • Belair
  • Booleroo Centre
  • Burnie
  • Carlton
  • Croydon
  • Daylesford
  • Elizabeth
  • Flemington
  • Fortitude Valley
  • Gillies Plains
  • Greenwood
  • Hawthorn
  • Ipswich
  • Katherine
  • Kilburn
  • Launceston
  • Mannum
  • Melton
  • Moonee Ponds
  • Mount Macedon
  • Narrogin
  • Northbridge
  • Oxenford
  • Parafield
  • Port Augusta
  • Riverview
  • Roxburgh Park
  • Shorncliffe
  • South Melbourne
  • Stanthorpe
  • Sunbury
  • Thornbury
  • Tuggeranong
  • Warrnambool
  • West Perth
  • Wodonga
  • Yeronga
  • Albany
  • Ascot Vale
  • Banora Point
  • Belconnen
  • Bowden
  • Caboolture
  • Caroline Springs
  • Cygnet
  • Earlwood
  • Enoggera
  • Floreat
  • Frankston
  • Glandore
  • Gumeracha
  • Hazelbrook
  • Kadina
  • Kelmscott
  • Kilkenny
  • Lawnton
  • Maryborough
  • Midland
  • Morphett Vale
  • Mowbray
  • Nhulunbuy
  • Northcote
  • Paddington
  • Paralowie
  • Randwick
  • Rocherlea
  • St Albans
  • Smithfield
  • Southport
  • Stepney
  • Surry Hills
  • Thornlie
  • Tullamarine
  • Warwick
  • Whyalla
  • Wollongong
  • Albury
  • Auburn
  • Beaudesert
  • Bertram
  • Box Hill
  • Campbelltown
  • Collingwood
  • Dallas
  • East Melbourne
  • Essendon
  • Florey
  • Fulham
  • Glenorchy
  • Hackham
  • Hindmarsh
  • Kallaroo
  • Kelvin Grove
  • Kingsley
  • Ludmila
  • Mayfield
  • Milang
  • Mount Gambier
  • Nambour
  • Nightcliff
  • Nowra
  • Pakenham
  • Petersham
  • Renmark
  • Rockhampton
  • St Kilda
  • South Brisbane
  • Spring Hill
  • Stones Corner
  • Tara
  • Tiwi Islands
  • Waikerie
  • Warwick Farm
  • Wilston
  • Woodridge
  • Aldinga
  • Bagot
  • Beenleigh
  • Blair Athol
  • Bridgewater
  • Camperdown
  • Craigie Heights
  • Davoren Park
  • East Perth
  • Ettalong
  • Footscray
  • Geelong
  • Gosnells
  • Hampstead Gardens
  • Inala
  • Kapunda
  • Kensington
  • Kogarah
  • Mackay
  • Meadow Heights
  • Milton
  • Mount Gravatt
  • Nannup
  • North Melbourne
  • Osborne Park
  • Palmerston
  • Phillip
  • Richmond
  • Rockingham
  • Shark Island
  • South Burnett
  • Springwood
  • Sturt
  • Tea Tree Gully
  • Toogoolawah
  • Warradale
  • Waverley
  • Woden
  • Woodville

About Our Sponsors

Principal National Sponsors

Community Sector Banking

Community Sector Banking

Community Sector Banking is a form of collective action by not-for-profit organisations to enhance the capacity of the Community Sector to better achieve its objectives. In addition to providing a tailored banking service, CSB facilitates the development of broader and more effective community, government and business partnerships in order to support the broader objectives of its stakeholders.
That is, to develop and deliver initiatives that stimulate social change and that contribute to the social development of Australia.

Jobs Australia

Jobs Australia: Working for a fair and equitable Australia

Jobs Australia is a national network of non-profit organisations assisting unemployed people to get and keep jobs. The network helps members to make the most effective use of their resources and promotes the needs of unemployed people for the services and support that will help them to participate fully in society.

Jobs Australia is the largest network of employment and related service providers in Australia and is funded and owned by its members.

Australian Red Cross

Australian Red Cross

We help tens of millions of people around the world each year and care for local communities in Australia and Asia Pacific. With more than 100 million volunteers worldwide and 60,000 members and volunteers in Australia we can reach people and places like nobody else. Relief in times of crisis, care when it's needed most and commitment when others turn away. Red Cross is there for people in need, no matter who you are, no matter where you live. Here are some examples of our work.

Key National Sponsors

  • Mission Australia
  • Australian Nursing Federation
  • World Vision
  • St Vincent de Paul Society
  • Care Australia
  • The Salvation Army

Other National Sponsors

  • Anglicare Australia
  • Catholic Social Services
  • Liquor, Hospitality & Miscellaneous Union
  • Australian Education Union
  • Australian Catholics Magazine

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Anti-Poverty Week
contact: apw@antipovertyweek.org.au
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