Media releases Archives - Page 28 of 29

High Court decision a violation of human rights
- 3 February 2016
Jesuit Social Services has strongly condemned the High Court’s ruling that more than 200 people seeking asylum, including a number of babies born in Australia, can be sent from the mainland to Nauru. “Australia’s punitive and inhumane policies surrounding people seeking asylum have long been condemned internationally, including at the UN Human Rights Council,” says…
Focus on vulnerable people crucial to Victoria’s 10-year mental health plan
- 10 December 2015
Jesuit Social Services welcomes the Victorian Government’s 10-year Mental Health Plan, and in particular its commitment to ensure all Victorians can achieve “good mental health… particularly those who are disadvantaged and vulnerable”. “We agree with the Victorian Government that the state’s current mental health system is struggling to adequately meet the needs of vulnerable Victorians,”…
Changes to Bail Act welcome after children unintentionally snagged in tightening net
- 26 November 2015
Jesuit Social Services welcomes changes to Bail introduced into the Victorian Parliament on Wednesday 25 November to address the alarming increase in vulnerable children being held in remand despite a 14 per cent drop in the number of young offenders. Jesuit Social Services acting CEO Sally Parnell says that previous changes to the Bail Act…
Commitment needed to fix mental health mess
- 24 November 2015
The redesigning of mental health services in Victoria by the previous state government has proven disastrous for vulnerable people and Jesuit Social Services welcomes the Andrews Government’s commitment to ‘work with service providers to fix the mess and ensure Victorians who most need help can get it’. Central to the recent changes was the introduction…
Reducing reoffending the key to creating safer communities: Ombudsman report
- 17 September 2015
Jesuit Social Services today welcomes findings of the Victorian Ombudsman’s Investigation into the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners in Victoria, which recommends a whole-of-government approach focused on reducing reoffending. “We know that our prison system is overworked and overcrowded, and that more than half of the people in Victoria’s prisons have previously served a custodial…
Overcrowding in prisons the backdrop to riots
- 7 July 2015
Severe overcrowding in Victoria’s prisons has created the kind of pressure cooker conditions in which riots are more likely, and should be considered as a contributing factor in any investigation of the Ravenhall riot, according to Jesuit Social Services. “We know from a series of reports and our own experience working with people in prisons…
Launch of Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA)
- 15 June 2015
The Catholic Alliance for People Seeking Asylum (CAPSA) has been officially launched at the start of World Refugee Week, which runs from June 14 to 20. Backed by leading Catholic peak organisations and convened by Jesuit Social Services, CAPSA aims to change hearts and minds across Australia in support of the abolition of harsh asylum…
Slowing of growth in prisoner numbers welcome but more reform needed
- 11 June 2015
The number of people in Victorian prisons increased by only 20 in the first quarter of 2015 after unprecedented growth in recent years, but Jesuit Social Services has warned that the current imprisonment rate is still unsustainable and systemic reform is needed. The state’s prison population has been increasing rapidly: increasing by 12 per cent…
Growth in indigenous prisoners almost three times that of non-indigenous prisoners
- 26 May 2015
Jesuit Social Services has reiterated calls for Closing the Gap targets to be extended to include driving down indigenous incarceration rates this Sorry Day, as data shows that the country’s indigenous prison population has grown by almost three times the rate of non-indigenous prisoners over the past decade. Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that…
Federal Budget includes youth employment initiatives, but will not address disadvantage
- 13 May 2015
New measures to support vulnerable young people into employment outlined in this week’s Federal Budget are welcome, but a lack of an overarching strategy to tackle poverty and disadvantage will do little to assist vulnerable people, says Jesuit Social Services CEO Julie Edwards. “We are pleased that new initiatives in the Youth Employment Strategy will…

Media releases

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