Overcoming disadvantage

WHAT IS CLEAR IS THAT LONG-TERM PROBLEMS REQUIRE LONG-TERM SOLUTIONS. DISADVANTAGE IS NOT JUST ABOUT ONE PROBLEM.

IN Premier Will Hodgman’s recent State of the State address he spruiked the state’s healthy economy but issued a warning that not all Tasmanians were sharing in the prosperity. It’s something he has remarked on before, acknowledging that the Government could do more to help solve the problems of social disadvantage caused by a housing crisis, poor education levels, high unemployment and skills shortages.

In today’s Future Tasmania series, we have focused on inclusive growth and asked those at the coalface what needs to be done to solve the problem of people being left behind during an economic boom.

Kirsha Kaechele said she started the 24 Carrot Garden project after a little girl from a disadvantaged community asked her what a carrot was. It was the impetus she needed to start a program with the aim of establishing a kitchen garden in every school. Her aim is to teach children how to grow, harvest and cook healthy produce. The wife of Mona founder David Walsh wants the program to help address the problems of childhood obesity.

So far 17 schools are involved in the program — each requiring $35,000 a year. The impressive thing is that it has been entirely privately funded, largely through high-end dinner experiences at Mona.

It sets a challenge of other businesses to follow suit — to give back to the community as they reap the rewards from strong growth in areas such as tourism, aquaculture and hospitality.

Others to offer positive solutions to our current problems include Mission Australia CEO James Toomey, who has urged the Government to follow Finland’s housing first strategy as a way of resolving our current homelessness crisis.

It converted hostels into supported housing, leading to a dramatic drop in the number of homeless people.

Tasmanian Council of Social Service CEO Kym Goodes points to Scotland as a country which has had success in turning around problems of long-term unemployment and disadvantage by investing in skills, giving people access to essential services and building the capacity of local communities to tackle local issues.

She highlights some success of that strategy in areas such as Sorell and the Derwent Valley.

What is clear is that long-term problems require long-term solutions. Disadvantage is not just about one problem. Access to services, health and education all contribute. How can you expect someone to hold down a job for instance, if they have little access to public transport, or they suffer poor health because they have no access to a dentist?

Ms Goodes gives the Government credit for dedicating $6 million of its Strategic Growth Framework to help establish similar programs.

It is encouraging that the Government is starting to do more than pay lip-service to the talk of bringing everyone along to ride the economic wave.

It must continue to listen to the experts, seek solutions from overseas and invest in programs which breakdown social disadvantage.

Responsibility for all editorial comment is taken by the Editor, Chris Jones, Level 1, 2 Salamanca Square, Hobart, TAS, 7000