Media Release

Community groups throughout suburban and regional Australia are vital to our individual and collective health and wellbeing, a number of Ministers, visiting U.S academics, grassroots community leaders and two Australians of the Year told the Communities in Control Conference this week.

More than 1300 people from all over Australia attended the conference in Melbourne, organised by Our Community and Catholic Social Services. They heard:

• Community groups at the grass roots level add to life expectancy, prevent stroke, heart disease, depression and dementia
• Community groups both help to prevent risk behaviours such as smoking, drug abuse, unsafe sexual practices and child abuse.
• Community leadership has been and still is vital in advancing important issues, including indigenous, multicultural, disability, gay, women and other rights issues
• Communities in Control need to be supported without strings that strangle their creativity and democratic right to state a position
• Control for communities is a strong term that puts the action and decision making back into communities -  governments and funders need to enhance that decision making and control

Conference co-convenor Rhonda Galbally AO, CEO of Our Community, said: "The Conference has put communities back on the agenda. 'Community' is not just a warm and fuzzy issue. The evidence to this conference was that spending money to build strong communities isn't about 'grants' or 'gifts' but investing in the future of Australia."

Fr Joe Caddy, the Executive Director of Catholic Social Services, said the conference was a great opportunity for two-way learning. "The Ministers and presenters learned first hand of many of the concerns and frustrations of community groups but also about their resilience and ability and desire to keep working to improve their local communities."

The representatives from grassroots groups from across the country heard:

• Professor Lisa Berkman, Head of Harvard University's School of Public Health explain how community involvement results in reduced illness and increased lifespan, saving the health system millions of dollars. Professor Berkman said community ties and voluntary associations influence health and health behaviours and detailed research that showed that men and women who were socially isolated were two to three times as likely to die over the follow-up period as those with many more community ties.  "Community Organisations have the power to improve population health. In this case, what's good for community is good for you," Professor Berkman said.

• Emeritus Professor Len Syme of California University, Berkeley, a world leader on designing public health education campaigns talk of how unless the community was part of the solution, Governments were wasting their time and money.  "I've learnt from many years that we arrogant, elitist, prima donna experts must listen to what the people we are trying to help actually want."

• 2000 Australian of the Year, Sir Gustav Nossal speak about the need for communities to "own" solutions. "I know from my immunisation work that if communities don't have ownership over the solutions to their challenges, then it all falls down. The communities must become a part of the solution," Sir Gustav said. He challenged community leaders to continue to advocate for change.

• Current Australian of the Year, Professor Fiona Stanley talk about the importance of strong community groups on the development of all children. "Families, schools and communities have shared responsibility to ensure the social, emotional, physical and intellectual development of all children."

Profesor Syme described the first Communities in Control conference as a "world-first". "In America we talk about communities in control. This conference is an example that you in Australia are already doing it," Professor Syme said.

Delegates from across the community sector, including those working in education, health, welfare, indigenous, environment and regional development heard other speakers including Federal Family and Community Services Minister Amanda Vanstone, Victorian Health Minister Bronwyn Pike, crikey.com.au's Stephen Mayne, Deputy Victorian Premier John Thwaites and the Pratt Foundation' Sam Lipski agree that a strong communities makes economic and personal sense.

A manifesto on Communities in Control is being developed for discussion. The manifesto will be released, along with all the presentations, over the coming weeks.



The conference was proudly supported by Our Community, Catholic Social Services, the Pratt Foundation, Department of Family and Community Services, the Victorian Government and National Australia Bank.