POLICY AND ADVOCACY

Linkwest’s policy and advocacy work looks at simple ways to influence policy and improve the resources, welfare and effectiveness of WA Centres across our network.

We strive to educate decision-makers about the impact of their policy decisions on our Centres and their communities. By doing so, Linkwest aims to help all West Australians to develop vibrant, inclusive and connected communities that will remain a part of our local landscapes for generations to come.

Linkwest will focus the insights from our consultations in three areas:

• Local Issues
• Local Wisdom
• Local Voices.

Tapping into the wisdom of our members

Member involvement is crucial to our advocacy. Our members hold local wisdom. As people who live in the community, they have a stake in the overall health and vitality of their community. Our submissions to state and federal inquiries use this wisdom to influence public policies which affect our network’s ability to care for local WA communities. Where appropriate, we make sure that our members’ voices are directly quoted in our discussions.

Local solutions to larger-than-local issues

Our policy and advocacy is about finding solutions and common ground to strengthen the trust between governments and local Centres so that we can continue to be the best placed back-up team - including during emergencies - that WA has come to expect from us.

Linkwest’s policy and advocacy focus includes:

• pre-budget and post-budget submissions
• submissions to relevant government inquiries
• position papers
• meeting with government representatives
• advocating in partnership with others.

View our recent submissions

Resources to help raise the profile of our sector

Linkwest has produced a number of resources to help promote the Neighbourhood and Community Resource Centre sector:

View our advocacy-related resources

Australian Neighourhood Houses and Centres Association (ANHCA) advocacy

National sector lays out its Federal election priorities