The launch today by Social Services Minister Scott Morrison, of the Federal Government’s inquiry into welfare reform, the McClure Report, is a game-changer for our sector.
Mutuals and Co-operatives are highlighted in a stand alone section of the Report (pg 181) for their “comparative advantages” in supporting social and economic participation through job creation, local economic development and self help initiatives.
The Report which recommends (pg 183) that Government “work with the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals, to ensure an enabling regulatory, economic and social environment to support mutuals and co-operatives”, says the Federal Government should promote the value of mutuals and co-operatives, noting their potential to: generate positive social outcomes for people and communities; generate economic and social resilience for individuals, communities and organisations; and achieve higher levels of consumer engagement and improve employee wellbeing in the delivery of services.
Their role in rural and regional Australia was particularly noted, as well as the potential for co-operatives to enable people living with a disability and their families to equitably access NDIS reforms.
I’m delighted that the work of the Council through the White Paper on Public Services Mutuals as well as the mapping work we have been doing to provide evidence of the scale and impact of the sector is explicitly recognised in the Report, not to mention the Report to refers to BCCM Members as “impressive examples of mutuals and co-operatives currently operating in Australia” including bankmecu and CBH group.
The Council will use the recommendations in the report to continue to build a coalition of the willing in support of the important role of co-operatives and mutuals in the economy. The Report’s recommendations reinforce the imminent need for the proposed Senate Inquiry into the barriers and impediments faced by our sector.
- Read the Press Release
- Read Final Report Executive Summary (pg 32)
- BCCM Submission to the Welfare Inquiry
