Anti-Poverty Week | How Australia can build a better system to beat poverty

Unless you are experiencing it, poverty can be a difficult concept to grasp. That isn't surprising.

Overall, Australia is a prosperous country and many of us enjoy a good quality of life, with access to the opportunities to achieve our dreams.

Let's consider another world, one largely hidden.

Let's imagine you are married with two children. You have a job. Your disposable household income of $1092 a week sits on the current poverty line in Australia and equates to an annual gross salary of $72,000. (Of course, if you were on the annualised minimum wage or receiving income support benefits such as JobSeeker, your disposable income would be much less).

Let's assume you are renting. In the June 2021 quarter, the median weekly rent for a two-bedroom dwelling in the Cessnock, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Newcastle and Port Stephens LGAs was $410.

Your living expenses, calculated with reference to the Household Expenditure Method, are $623 a week. This only covers the absolute basics of food, children's clothing, utilities, transport costs and communications.

With the $59 a week left over, you can think about some of the discretionary basics such as take-away food, restaurants, confectionery, alcohol and tobacco, adult clothing, and entertainment. Or you could try to save it in case you get sick or want to treat the family for birthdays.

This is the reality for a family living on the poverty line.

The ACOSS and UNSW research report Poverty in Australia 2020 found that in Australia, more than 3.24 million people or 13.6 per cent of the population were living below the poverty line. That includes 774,000 children or more than one in six. Many of those affected were living in deep (abject) poverty, on average more than $282 a week below the poverty line.

Groups who are more likely than others to be living in poverty include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, and women.

The 2021 report from Equity Economics, Rebuilding Women's Economic Security, found that even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, women in NSW represented 60 per cent of clients seeking emergency assistance for their housing needs from specialist homelessness services.

IN THE NEWS:

Since May 2021, 61 per cent of job losses have been female jobs.

This is not new or startling information; gendered poverty has been pervasive in our society for a very long time.

The pandemic has worsened housing insecurity for women. Rents in regional areas have increased, and there has been an increase in the number of reports of domestic violence with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women at greater risk.

This is forcing women to choose between staying in an unsafe and violent home or face homelessness due to the lack of affordable housing available.

At present up to 2402 women are returning to live with a violent partner because of lack of an affordable alternative, and a further 2410 are homeless because they could not find secure and permanent housing after leaving violence.

We strongly support the statewide campaign calling on the NSW Government to increase their investment in social housing construction in conjunction with improved funding for domestic violence and specialist homelessness.

A Pink Hi-Vis Recovery will support women in addressing their fundamental needs of safety, and secure, affordable housing will help communities rebuild after COVID and boost the broader NSW economy.

At the core of the campaign is a request for government to fast-track the building of 5000 additional social housing units to urgently provide women experiencing family and domestic violence and/or at risk of homelessness a safe, secure place to live.

In addition to providing shelter, it will also stimulate the NSW economy, delivering $4.5 billion in economic output and almost 14,000 jobs.

The construction sector represents one of the biggest employers in NSW and is particularly important in regional NSW.

For more information visit ncoss.org.au/anti-poverty-week-2021/

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