Page 4509 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 14 October 2009
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several distinct causes of poverty, which are not just created by individual experiences but by major inequalities in the structure of Australian society.
The first is work and income with many people falling into the “working poor” category, trying to support a family on the minimum wage and struggling to meet basic costs of living. Despite unemployment rates remaining relatively low, there are high numbers of people who only have a few hours of paid work per week. Education is another contributing factor as low education levels are linked to unemployment and subsequently the risk of living in poverty.
The lack of affordable, secure housing also contributes to poverty, as people on low incomes rarely own homes and rent is often unaffordable, particularly in major cities. Of course, poor health underpins many of the problems associated with poverty, as people living in poverty suffer greater levels of physical and mental illness. Lastly, access to affordable community services is an important poverty prevention strategy, by helping disadvantaged people to participate in social and economic life.
The recent international events of the global financial crisis have caused rising unemployment, falling incomes, mortgage foreclosures, delayed retirements and declines in overall wellbeing. Traditionally, many families have had to juggle the budget in order to make sure bills are paid. However, in more recent times we have seen this group of people grow substantially with the world economic crisis and its impacts.
Dr John Falzon, who is the CEO of the St Vincent de Paul Society, believes the global financial crisis has increased poverty in Australia in two ways: through the exclusion of people that are already in poverty and the new cohort that is moving into poverty through the loss of jobs. He said that, according to the ACOSS report, 11 per cent of people live in poverty, but it is more likely to be around 15 per cent. Salvation Army representative Major Peter Sutcliffe agreed that the global financial crisis has caused an increase in the need for the services of the Salvation Army. He commented, “There has been a definite increase in the demand for our services as a result of the global financial crisis. Food parcels and grocery vouchers have been in peak demand, as are the homeless services.”
Here in the ACT the situation is much the same. The emergency relief program at UnitingCare Kippax had its busiest month ever in August this year, assisting over 1,000 individuals in that month alone. On top of the 40 per cent increase throughout 2008-09, they are experiencing more than an additional 20 per cent increase already this financial year in demand for assistance. Approximately one-quarter of their emergency relief clients are homeless, which is a significant development on previous years. Each month, on average over one-third of their clients are new and many of those clients have never sought emergency relief assistance in any form in their life.
While we would like to believe that Canberra exists without poverty, we know and understand that many Canberrans are experiencing financial hardship and social exclusion as a result. The financial situation for Canberra people living with a disadvantage is worsening and is likely to continue to do so. We know that about one in 10 Canberrans are experiencing multiple deprivation—and that is, lacking three or more of the essentials of life.
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