Impact Economy Forum 2024

It is a privilege to be here with so many remarkable Western Australians and to be part of the first-ever Impact Economy Forum.

Here at Kings Park, where people have gathered for thousands of years.

I sometimes have to pinch myself when I think about how many of our state's great treasures are in my electorate.I cannot imagine Perth without Kings Park. Our city without the Swan River. And I cannot imagine Western Australia without the power of impact investing.

Australia would be poorer without CBH. Western Australia would be less equal without the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council. My community would be less welcoming without RUAH Community Services.

Social impact

Today you have shown there is so much to be proud of. But that is not enough. "Okay" is not good enough for anyone in this room.

Everyone here is driven by that fundamental question: What is next? How can I make a bigger difference?

There is always more to do. That's how we build an economy that is sustainable, inclusive and equitable. An economy that gives every Australian the opportunity to thrive.

Every Australian. No matter your postcode. No matter your school. No matter your faith. Because this is the land of the fair go. And in this room, together, you make sure more Australians get a fairer go. And you have momentum on your side.

The social impact investment market is growing. Rapidly. Twelve years ago, the United Nations launched their global framework for impact investing. It was estimated to take 10 years for the global impact investing market to hit $1 trillion.

They were way off. It took just seven.

Some forecasts predict the Australian market will be worth around $500 billion by next year. Supporting more than 12,000 social enterprises around the country. Businesses like the many represented here today. Businesses like yours employ hundreds of thousands of Australians, and contribute more than $21 billion a year to our economy.

It will take a collective effort across government, impact investors and social enterprise to sustain this momentum. I am confident that we can. Because striving for a 'fair go' is what unites us as Australians.

History of the social impact economy

Australians have a long history of putting their money towards causes that matter. Philanthropy helped pave the way for government to build a fairer society. Here in Australia it is within living memory of a country where we did not have a fair go for all.

Think back to the first decades of federation, just a century ago. If you got sick. If you were a single mother. If you were elderly without family. It was charity that you relied upon.

Things did not better during the Great Depression in the 1930s. Charities were one of the few places to turn if you found yourself out of work.

The Curtin Government

That changed in the 1940s, when John Curtin's government introduced unemployment and sickness benefits. They also introduced widow pensions. It was transformative for our most disadvantaged communities.

Curtin created more opportunities for young working-class people to go to university. His government introduced the first financial assistance for Australian students in 1943. Students received a maximum of 134 pounds each year if they lived out of home.

Ben Chifley went even further. Leading a successful referendum in 1946.

Enshrining the rights of the Commonwealth for:

the provision of maternity allowances, widows' pensions, child endowment, unemployment, pharmaceutical, sickness and hospital benefits, medical and dental services (but not so as to authorise any form of civil conscription), benefits to students and family allowances;

This was not the Commonwealth going it alone. Instead it was a response to the social enterprises, the Friendly Societies and more. They had established a need. Found the right models for support. And wanted to focus their impact on new and emerging needs.

Care economy

Unsurprisingly, the care economy was started by people who cared. Then they showed and demanded that governments care too.

The majority of home nursing was largely provided by voluntary organisations. That was the case until the Commonwealth became increasingly involved from the 1950s.

Childcare only got government attention during World War II. Curtin's government funded crèche services in the 1940s. Allowing hundreds of thousands of women to work and contribute to the war effort.

That program ended along with the war. Philanthropic and private organisations took the lead on providing day care until government stepped back in from 1972.

Government and the social impact economy today

We know that much has changed. But our commitment to a more and more perfect fair go has not.

I know investors and enterprises like yours want to partner with government. To ensure funding is going where it is needed the most. And Government wants to work with you.

That is why our Government is supporting the impact economy. We have committed $100 million to our Outcomes Fund. One more part of our commitment to break the cycle of disadvantage.

Make payments to programs that support and deliver outcomes for disadvantaged communities. Co-designed - with states, providers, philanthropists and investors. This is how we lay the groundwork for more impact investing.

That is why our Government is investing more than $11 million in the Social Enterprise Development Initiative. Grants of up to $120,000, social enterprises like yours can invest in your outcomes measurement and evaluation. Bigger impact in your local communities. And delivering results on a national level.

It builds on the Sector Readiness Fund - which showed how a small government investment can be amplified through impact investment.

In fact, another Pat here with us today was part of one of the fund's success stories. I am talking, of course, about Pat Ryan from Dismantle. I have visited Pat and Dismantle at their previous home in West Perth a few times.

Three things were immediately evident:

First, Pat is a passionate and purposeful leader.

Second, work that Dismantle does is life-changing.

And finally, only one of the two Patrick's in this room can fix your bike.

Dismantle was able to turn a grant of $133,000 into more than a million dollars of investment capital. And, in turn, give employment and training opportunities to kids from some of Perth's most marginalised communities. That is also pretty handy, if you ask me.

Conclusion

I would like to loop back to where I started today. To another part of my electorate that I am proud of. To Mount Lawley High School, which I visited with the Prime Minister a couple of weeks ago.

I love those sorts of visits. But I also find, sometimes, that the conversations with the kids can feel a little 'boxed in.'

Now, I am the first to admit that as a so-called 'geriatric millennial' I probably do not have my finger on the pulse of youth culture. But when we are talking, things tend to veer toward what they want to study at uni. Or if they want to learn a trade. Or where they would like to end up working.

And some of these kids are really focused on the impact they want to make. The mark they want to leave. The change they want to enact. And I hope they keep that flame of wanting to change something burning bright.

I want more Western Australian kids thinking they could be the impact investors and social entrepreneurs of tomorrow. That they can be the ones creating jobs and opportunity for others, and building a fairer society for all. You are living proof they can achieve it - right here, in Western Australia.

I am excited by the possibilities of what lies ahead for the social impact sector. And by what we can do together to help it grow and flourish.

Thank you.