Statement on election of Labor government

The St Vincent de Paul Society of Australia congratulates the Australian Labor Party on being elected as the next government for Australia and looks forward to working with the Albanese Government to support people in need and to address the challenges we face as a country.

‘We welcome the Prime Minister Elect’s commitment that his government will leave no one behind as it brings Australians together around our shared values of fairness and opportunity,’ National President Ms Claire Victory said.

‘It is critical under Anthony Albanese’s leadership that the new government unites all Australians and supports structural reform to end disadvantage in Australia to avoid a continual ballooning of poverty and social crisis.

‘More than three million people, including one-in-six children, live in poverty in Australia and find it increasingly tough to make ends meet. We know a growing number face difficulties to find secure, affordable housing as the cost-of-living skyrockets.

‘We welcome the commitment to adopt the 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart by supporting Constitutional Recognition of First Nations people and implementing a voice to Parliament. At the same time our members express increasing concern for the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people because they continue to face poorer outcomes than non-Indigenous Australians.

‘We will work alongside the Albanese Government to ensure Australians in need are placed at the heart of their public policy agenda for the coming term and will be protected during the process of budget repair,’ Ms Victory said.

The St Vincent de Paul Society especially welcomes Labor’s election commitment to develop a National Housing and Homelessness Plan and establish a National Housing Supply and Affordability Council.

‘We recognise that only a concerted national reform program led by the Albanese Government that brings all stakeholders—government, business, the charitable sector and the community—together will be able to tackle structural issues in a manner that ends disadvantage in Australia,’ Ms Victory said.

Before the federal election, the Society outlined core priorities across a range of policy areas that would lift Australians out of poverty and create A Fairer Australia.

‘A Fairer Australia sets out compassionate, affordable policies to lift millions of Australians out of poverty. The cost of implementing these policies involves modest reforms to superannuation and taxation, asking only the most well-off and able to afford it, to pay a little more.