Health experts call for problem gambling reforms

Problem gambling is one of the most serious health issues affecting our nation, according to a group of 40 high-profile experts.

The group - including the head of the Public Health Association of Australia, Helen Keleher, and former Australian of the Year, Fiona Stanley - have written to politicians to express their support for low-impact poker machines and a mandatory pre-commitment scheme that would enable pokie users to select an amount they are willing to lose before they start gambling.

"An effective response to the harms of problem gambling is required urgently. As we have learnt from other successful public health responses, social marketing and education campaigns alone will not work," they wrote in a letter to the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.

"For every person with a gambling problem, between five and 10 others are affected: children, husbands, wives, partners, employers, neighbours, family and friends," they added.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the letter said a mandatory pre-commitment scheme for gamblers would further establish Australia as a world leader in public health.

"As was the case with tobacco, gun controls and seatbelts, when there is compelling evidence of serious and immediate threats to public health we are compelled to take action to minimise harm.

"Each year that we delay the introduction of effective measures to address harms derived from gambling on poker machines, hundreds of thousands of people will experience gambling problems."

You can read more at the SMH or ABC Online.

According to the Productivity Commission Inquiry Report released in 2010, there are between 80 000 and 160,000 Australian adults suffering severe problems from their gambling. The costs to problem gamblers in 2008-09 ranged between $4.7 and $8.4 billion.

In March, Mission Australia threw its support behind a campaign, jointly launched by Independent Tasmanian MP, Andrew Wilkie and advocacy group, GetUp, to combat attempts to undermine the Federal Government’s planned poker machine reforms.

Tonight Four Corners examines this campaign tonight at 8.30pm on ABC1.

Further information:

• 'One-stop-shop' to tackle problem gambling
• Craigie passes on smart gambling message
• If you or someone you know needs support to overcome a gambling addiction visit www.triplerservices.com.au

Media coverage - ABC: 'One-stop-shop' to tackle problem gambling

The ACT Government says its new gambling support service will serve as a 'one-stop-shop' for problem gamblers and their families.

The Government has announced Mission Australia will run the service, providing help for people already struggling with problem gambling as well as running proactive services to help those at risk of developing an addiction.

It is due to be up and running next month.

Economic Development Minister Andrew Barr says it is a unique, nation-leading arrangement.

"Mission Australia will combine their experience in problem gambling services with the many other services they provide including financial counselling, support services for disadvantaged families and youth, support services for relationships, domestic violence, drug and alcohol misuse, mental illness, housing," he said.

Mr Barr says the service will include face-to-face, phone, email and online contact with clients.

He says Mission Australia will also work with the Australian National University, the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission and industry stakeholders to undertake research on the causes and effective treatment of problem gambling.

Mr Barr says it is part of the Government's broader plan to tackle problem gambling.

"That encompass everything from assistance for those who have demonstrated need and perhaps those who we haven't been reaching with previous assistance models, through to some more direct action in relation to the number of poker machines in the Territory, ATM withdrawal limits and the national work around precommitment," he said.

The service is being funded by a 0.6 per cent levy on gambling revenue, an idea initiated by an ACT Greens bill.

Mission Australia's Leonie Green says it will be a diverse program.

"Not only will we be offering financial and gambling counselling services but we will be also providing training for other service providers," she said.

"We'll be able to provide therapeutic services to families and individuals so that they can start looking and addressing all of the other issues. We'll be working in schools raising awareness of gambling."

Story originally published 7 June 2011 at ABC.net.au

Further reading:

• Owen Craigie passes on smart gambling message
• Government Media Release: Tackling problem gambling in Australia
• Previous MA news - gambling

Media coverage: Financial literacy helps disadvantaged youth

Moneymanagement.com.au, 6 May 2011 - Financial literacy helps disadvantaged youth

Improving financial literacy skills can help disadvantaged young people set goals and get on top of personal financial challenges, according to Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, David Bradbury.

ANZ’s MoneyMinded financial literacy program reached more than 125,000 people over the past six years through partner community organisations across Australia. An RMIT report into the program found that at-risk young people who received that education through Mission Australia saw vast improvements in attitudes towards money, Bradbury said at the paper’s launch last week.

“Many of the young people who received MoneyMinded financial literacy training through Mission Australia had very little income, high levels of debt and difficult personal circumstances,” he said.

“After participating in various Mission Australia programs, where these young people were taught basic financial literacy skills based on MoneyMinded, they began to set goals for their own future, set their own budgets and better understand where to go for help and information.”

The Government has also introduced a range of measures to boost Australians’ financial literacy, including launching the MoneySmart website, developed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Bradbury said.

The report also found that participants experienced a range of improvements around budgeting, spending less money on items such as take away food, cigarettes and illicit dugs. It also found that participants showed a greater understanding of shopping around for the best price, increased willingness to seek help in times of financial stress and improved saving and goal-setting behaviour.

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ABC Radio’s The World Today, 4 May 2011 - Making sense of dollars

The number of bankruptcies in the under-24 age group is increasing and disadvantaged young people are particularly vulnerable. However, the 2010 MoneyMinded Summary Report by RMIT University in partnership with Mission Australia and ANZ, has found that teaching young people how to manage money can turn that around.

Mission Australia's State Director for Victoria, Paul Bird, told The World Today that a lack of financial literacy is a major barrier to employment, especially amongst disadvantaged youth.

“It's as basic as being able to open a bank account, being able to pay bills and to be able to understand the use of credit cards, especially if a young person has come from a family that's never worked and they've never had their own accommodation,” he said.

Hear more about the year-long study into the impact financial literacy has on disadvantaged youth here: abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2011/s3207465.htm

Media Release: Financial skills help steer young people towards a positive future

Financial literacy education improves the financial understanding and behaviour of young people at risk, according to a national report released today by RMIT University, Mission Australia and ANZ.

The 2010 MoneyMinded Summary Report was launched in Melbourne today by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, the Hon David Bradbury MP, and ANZ Chief Executive Officer, Mike Smith.

Prepared by RMIT University, the report includes key findings from a year-long study of more than 300 participants in Mission Australia’s programs for young people at risk. The study investigates outcomes when MoneyMinded, Australia’s most widely used financial literacy program, was included.

Key findings in from the Mission Australia study were:

• Simplified financial education increased young peoples’ understanding and confidence in managing money and was important for their long-term wellbeing.
• Participants experienced a range of improvements with budgeting and reduced spending on items such as take away food, cigarettes or illicit drugs.
• Participants also showed greater understanding of the importance of shopping around for best price, increased willingness to seek help in times of financial stress, and improved saving and goal-setting behaviour.

Mission Australia CEO, Toby Hall, said that financial education played an important role in the various programs designed to transform the lives of young people at risk.

“The development of relevant financial skills empowered these young people to make positive choices that would significantly impact their adult lives,” Mr Hall said.

“It demonstrates financial literacy education changes the financial behaviour of youth at risk and plays a part in steering them towards a positive future.”

ANZ CEO Mike Smith said that MoneyMinded is a demonstration of ANZ’s commitment to building financial capability, particularly in vulnerable communities.

“This report demonstrates the impact that financial literacy programs such as MoneyMinded can have. Improving the ability of people to make financial decisions that contribute to their well-being is a long-term endeavour and we will continue to work with our community partners to do this,” Mr Smith said.

A copy of the 2010 MoneyMinded Summary report can be found here.

For media enquiries contact:
Katie Croft
Tel: 03 9866 4722 or 0413 780 545
Email: kcroft@bcg.com.au

Notes for Editors:

• MoneyMinded is Australia’s most widely-used adult financial education resources, developed to help financial counsellors and community educators build the financial skills, knowledge and confidence of participants. ANZ developed MoneyMinded in 2003 in consultation with government, community organisations and education experts, including ASIC and the Australian Financial Counselling and Credit Reform Association (AFCCRA). The review undertaken by RMIT assessed the overall reach and impact of MoneyMinded since 2005. Over 125,000 people have been reached with the program, which is designed to support vulnerable groups such as low-income earners, rural indigenous participants, people with mental and physical disabilities, high school students, prisoners, unemployed, youth at-risk, migrants, and sole parents.
• Almost 4000 facilitators, mainly community workers and financial counsellors, have been trained to use the program, with currently more than 2000 actively delivering the program across Australia. For more information see www.anz.com/moneyminded
• Mission Australia’s Youth Financial Literacy Program was delivered as part of a number of programs including Triple Care Farm, Links to Learning and Urban Renewal Landscape and Construction. The program was supported by ANZ and CPA Australia.  More information about Mission Australia services can be found at missionaustralia.com.au

This media release was issued by Mission Australia, RMIT and ANZ.

Building a better life

Seven-month-old Lily* was born into homelessness. While her parents excitedly awaited her birth, they felt weighed down by the uncertainty of not having a roof to put over her head.

Lily’s dad had hurt himself at work and lost his job as a mechanic just a month before she was born. With the breadwinner of the family suffering from a back injury and unable to find work, the family fell behind on the rent and soon found themselves sleeping rough, struggling to make ends meet.

Every night for eight months, the family packed up their belongings and moved to a different place, staying in motels, caravans and, at times, even in a tent. It was exhausting and stressful, and Lily’s parents felt powerless to change their situation.

Lily’s parents were incredibly grateful when they were welcomed to Mission Australia’s Brighter Futures service in nearby Goulburn, NSW. They were filled with hope that things could change.

In February, we found a safe and secure home for Lily’s family and provided them with clothing, essential supplies for the baby and food vouchers. The family received financial counselling to sort out their finances and career advice to help Lily’s dad find a job.

We recently received a card from Lily’s family expressing their appreciation for the help they received:

“There are so many Australians in desperate need who come through our doors every day. With the help of our supporters, we are able to offer them assistance to pick up the pieces of their lives and rebuild.

"You have all been so wonderful. It is hard to know where to begin to say thank you. Please know that your kindness will always be remembered. You’ve given us the ability to stay afloat and treated us with dignity. We are eternally grateful.”

This young family is now on their way to building a better life - and it couldn’t have happened without the support of generous Mission Australia donors.

You can help many families like Lily’s to transform their lives by giving a gift to Mission Australia’s Winter Appeal.

*Name and image have been changed to protect client's identity

FAHCSIA Media Release: Improving financial literacy in Indigenous communities

More than 17,000 Indigenous Australians living in remote communities have been supported to help manage their money through a joint Australian Government and ANZ bank initiative that is marking its five year anniversary today.

MoneyBusiness has helped Indigenous families and individuals with budgeting, saving and making informed financial decisions.

It was developed in consultation with Indigenous people and designed specifically to address local financial issues in remote and regional Australia.

In most cases local Indigenous people employed by community organisations deliver the service one-on-one, in family groups or in community workshops.

In one example, a Northern Territory man had been considering a costly car loan before he attended a MoneyBusiness workshop on "making your money last until payday".

The workshop helped him set up a family budget which identified that the loan would cost him more than he could afford to repay with his current spending.

He decided not to apply for the loan and with his new family budget in place he was able to save for part of the cost of the car and subsequently take out a loan with reduced repayments.

MoneyBusiness was first piloted in 2005 in Katherine, Tennant Creek, Nguiu (Tiwi Islands) and Galiwinku (Elcho Island) in the Northern Territory, and Geraldton and Kununurra in Western Australia.

It is now delivered by more than 120 workers in 215 remote sites in the NT, WA and Queensland; 72 per cent of these workers are Indigenous.

MoneyBusiness includes nine education workshops on issues such as planning for the future, making money last until payday and tenancy agreements and makes learning enjoyable with large picture prompt cards, a board game, and DVDs.

The life size edition of the board game has been particularly successful in engaging young children in schools.

The Australian Government has invested $356,000 in the MoneyBusiness education tool over five years.

Media Release issued by Julie Collins MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Community Services, and Jenny Macklin MP, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs

Homelessness - what will it take to grab your attention?

Homelessness is a problem nearly all of us wish to end. Yet there are so many appeals to donate to you could become completely desensitised to them.

It’s unfortunate, but that’s our reality. What’s it going to take to get someone’s attention? What else can we do to get people to donate?

That’s why our new donation appeal looks like we’re offering a free gift with every donation. We’ve realised there are endless ways to ask for help, but there’s nothing we can offer that compares to the good feeling you get when you help someone in need.

Mission Australia can help end homelessness and help people get their lives back on track, but we need your support.

There are more than 100,000 homeless Australians, and nearly one in five will sleep outside in the cold tonight. Some will only have a newspaper to keep warm. Living on the street can have grim consequences, from isolation and loneliness to low self-esteem and mental illness.

When homeless people do seek help they face further daunting problems. They typically visit multiple services, yet most of these are overstretched and must turn people away. Across the nation, Mission Australia has 87 services for homeless people that provide the guidance and motivation they need to transform their lives.

Mission Australia is committed to ending homelessness in Australia. We believe all Australians should be able to live in a safe, secure and affordable home.

Our primary focus is to prevent homelessness from occurring. We provide financial counselling, family and individual support, mental health support, and employment and training assistance to help keep people from falling into crisis.

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New donation appeal - click to expand:

Media Release: Mission Australia opens its heart in Campbelltown

Mission Australia has launched a new Financial Education, Counselling and Community hub in Campbelltown this week.

This new support service gives locals the chance to buy brand new clothes and furnishings at a fraction of the retail price and access a range of community services from financial education and general counselling services, to training opportunities for the local unemployed.

Citi Australia provided the seed funding for the new hub, meeting the substantial cost of setting up the new programs and the facility. Stephen Roberts, Citi Country Officer for Citi Australia, officially opened the hub today.

“Financial education and supporting the Australian community are ongoing priorities for us at Citi,” said Mr Roberts.

“We are delighted to be working with Mission Australia on such a worthwhile project. Supporting people with financial education and access to affordable everyday items will make a big difference to many lives in the Campbelltown area. Supporting Mission Australia is a way we at Citi Australia can really help at a grass roots level – we look forward to working together.”

Mission Australia Operations Manager for Social Enterprise Bill Dibley said that the new hub incorporates a Big Heart retail store and would have many benefits for the local community – both those simply looking for a bargain as well as people in need of a helping hand.

“With increasing pressure on individual and family income from rises in interest rates, utilities and the cost of food, the availability of affordable clothing and furniture in the area will greatly assist locals. And since the lion’s share of clothing we sell is surplus stock from the major retailers, this means we have brand new clothes on offer at a fraction of the retail price,” said Mr Dibley.

“But the real beauty of this new hub is the social impact for the local community.

“The money from the Big Heart retail sales will directly fund the financial education programs we offer in the hub, so for example a parent can be taught how to develop an effective budget to avoid the situation of struggling to meet their bills.

“There is also a counsellor on-site to assist people with personal issues such as a relationship breakdown, or the loss of a loved one. In our experience people are often facing multiple issues so by taking a holistic approach, the outcome is better.

“And importantly in an area like Campbelltown, which has a higher than average rate of unemployment, the retail store provides a volunteering, training and employment opportunity for people who are unemployed. We are currently training and up skilling our 30 strong team of volunteers, and we’ve already taken on one of the volunteers as a Mission Australia employee.

“Whether someone is unemployed, has just gone through a relationship breakdown, or is in financial difficulty – by dropping in to the community hub here, we will be able to help you,” Mr Dibley concluded.

The Big Heart Enterprise was established in the Illawarra region 20 years ago to help raise funds for a local Mission Australia Youth Accommodation service. Over the years, Big Heart has grown to include six retail outlets, 13 full-time staff, and about 180 volunteers. Each store provides high quality, low cost clothing and furnishings to the public.

All money raised at the Campbelltown Big Heart store will fund the financial education and counselling position – ensuring the profits are 100 per cent returned to, and directly assisting, the local community. The new hub is located at: 5 Harbord Road, Campbelltown.

For further information about the services come and visit the site or call Big Heart on Tel: 02 4620 0007 or Financial Education, Counselling and Community Hub on Tel: 02 4620 0201.

Media contact: 
Sally Popplestone
Mob: 0415 547 626
email: popplestones@missionaustralia.com.au

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About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi's major brand names include Citibank.

Find out more about Citi’s support of Mission Australia here.

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Wollongong benefits from passionate financial counselling volunteer

Following in the footsteps of recent Order of Australia Medal recipient, Don Ward, Sharad Kotwal has been providing financial counselling services to families in need through Mission Australia's Triple R services in Wollongong.

"Over the past seven years Sharad has proved himself to be an outstanding financial counselling volunteer," said John Brett, manager Triple R Centre. "At the end of each financial year he also provides assistance for families completing their tax returns.

"Sharad is always glad to hear his clients report a favourable tax return or financial decision - it proves that when professional skills are shared they can build a stronger community, while contributing to each individual's process of transformation," said John.

As part of Mission Australia's Triple R services, Sharad works with a team of professionals who provide counselling and community education services.  Triple R relies on volunteers like Sharad to enable the service to diversify into four key areas: financial counselling, gambling counselling, youth financial literacy, and youth gambling counselling.

Triple R operates in NSW metro, regional and rural communities.  For more information please see our website, click here for details.

Big Heart is moving to Campbelltown!

Mission Australia’s social enterprise retail outlet, Big Heart, is due to open its first Sydney location in Campbelltown this November.

Big Heart was established in the Illawarra 19 years ago to help raise funds for local Mission Australia services.

What originally began as a traditional 'op-shop' venture has grown into five retail outlets (throughout Illawarra and Shoalhaven), ten full-time staff members and more than 150 volunteers that provides more than just high quality, low cost clothing and furnishings to the public.

Big Heart also gives unemployed people on-the-job training in industries including warehousing, upholstery, retail and administration.

Big Heart’s Campbelltown branch will incorporate Mission Australia’s south western Sydney financial counselling services in the one location to ensure long-term sustainability of the service.

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The proposed location will be on the corner of Campbelltown Road and Harbord Street.

Final contact details will be updated in October.

Please visit www.missionaustralia.com.au/big-heart for further details.