Forum

 
  Back to OzPolitic.com   Welcome, Guest. Please Login or Register
  Forum Home Album HelpSearch Recent Rules LoginRegister  
 

Page Index Toggle Pages: 1
Send Topic Print
20,000 Victorians Homeless On Any Given Night. (Read 247 times)
imcrookonit
Ex Member
*



20,000 Victorians Homeless On Any Given Night.
Oct 21st, 2010 at 11:00am
 
But both sides need to find a way to do more. The sad truth is that, even in prosperous Victoria, too many live in poverty. How many? The best estimates suggest about 500,000 - about five grand final crowds; about one in 10 of us. And something like 20,000 Victorians are believed to be homeless on any given night.

Newly published research for the charity Mission Australia makes particularly depressing reading. A survey of 1230 ''clients'' across Australia found that in Victoria, one in seven people seeking help from welfare groups was missing at least one substantial meal a day, that 42 per cent said they could not afford dental treatment, 33 per cent said they did not have enough money to buy prescribed medicines and 26 per cent were unable to pay their electricity, gas and water bills.

The findings regarding children are heartbreaking. About a quarter of the families seeking help from welfare agencies said they could not fund hobbies for their children, 21 per cent said they could not afford school activities such as excursions and 12 per cent reported they were not able to provide separate beds for each child.

Mission Australia's Victorian director, Paul Bird, says the conclusion is inescapable: inequality is growing. He hopes the figures will be a wake-up call to our political leaders; Victoria might be striving to become ''fairer'', but it still ain't fair.

The survey authors, Peter Saunders and Melissa Wong of the Social Policy Research Centre at the University of NSW, make a disturbing point. Noting that the survey was conducted before the global financial crisis, they write: ''Little if any of the growing prosperity generated by a booming economy was trickling down to those most in need. This is a telling indictment of our ability to build on Australia's economic success to make inroads into some of our entrenched social problems.''

Couple that with a Salvation Army report for Anti-Poverty Week that finds the global financial crisis had a big impact on the poor, with an extra 80,000 people across Australia seeking help from the Salvos last year.

Major Peter Sutcliffe says in the Salvos' report on the nature and impact of poverty in Australia that the economic downturn, mild though it was in this country, was the ''tipping point'' for many families. ''The most vulnerable and disadvantaged members of our community are not only the first to be impacted by an economic downturn but often the last to recover from its impact, and that's what's happening,'' he says. ''People are finding that the economy is starting to turn around, but they're still struggling to come out on top.''

This report has one other element that should give pause to our politicians. At the request of the Salvos, Roy Morgan Research surveyed 669 Australians aged 14 and over on their views about poverty. A remarkable 94 per cent agreed that taking action to reduce poverty was either important or a very high priority; only 6 per cent rated it a low priority or no priority at all.

None of this is to suggest poverty is a ''sexy'' political issue. But with polling figures like that, and given the sort of reception that greeted the canonisation of Mary MacKillop, perhaps there are some votes in doing more to help the poor.
Back to top
 
 
IP Logged
 
Vanessa
Senior Member
****
Offline


Ranga Rock Chick

Posts: 301
Somewhere In The Real World
Gender: female
Re: 20,000 Victorians Homeless On Any Given Night.
Reply #1 - Oct 21st, 2010 at 1:30pm
 
The pensioners will be sure to claim they live in poverty every day. Whingers, the lot of them.

Cut electricity prices, make dental care free and that will go a long way. It will be a start, at least.
Back to top
 

I don't care if I'm fat, or if you think my clothes are bad. I can go to sleep at night I'm a good person and I'll get by...
 
IP Logged
 
Page Index Toggle Pages: 1
Send Topic Print