The St Vincent de Paul Society is calling on the Australian Government to address childhood poverty, with one in six Australian children living below the poverty line.
Ahead of Anti-Poverty Week, which runs from October 13-19, the society’s national president, Mark Gaetani, said “households living in poverty have limited access to proper housing, healthy food and educational opportunities for their children:”.
“This causes social and developmental problems in the short term and limitations as the children grow up,” Mr Gaetani said.
“Around 3,240,000 Australians, more than 13 per cent of our total population, are now living below the poverty line. The great majority rely on the Government as their sole source of income and at present this is grossly inadequate.”
Mr Gaetani said Australia’s poverty rate “has steadily increased over the past two decades, with survey data suggesting the rate of poverty is at its highest since 2001”.
“Poverty is also intergenerational. Children who experience poverty are at increased risk of facing poverty as adults,” he said.
Mr Gaetani stressed that the rate of JobSeeker and other support payments is below the poverty line and the result is that young children are failing to thrive because their needs cannot be met.
“It is unimaginable that this situation continues in a well-off country like Australia. But that’s the reality our members see every day when they are in touch with people seeking help.
Mr Gaetani said St Vincent de Paul Society continues to advocate for the Government to address a range of key social inequities.
These include halving child poverty by 2030, increasing the base rate of working age payments to lift recipients out of poverty, and doubling the earnings threshold of income support recipients to $300 a fortnight, as some householders have paid work, although often at low casual rates.
“At a time of Budget surplus, we urge our elected leaders to implement measures that will help households in the greatest need and enable our children to have a better chance of a meaningful life, now and in the future.”
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Only Government can help address childhood poverty (St Vincent de Paul Society)
