Making Poverty History in Australia too

We have been rightly focused on the problem of poverty in the world. We have focused on the Millennium Development Goals and how we can as a world community can finally end the tragedy of avoidable suffering due to poverty. The numbers of people living in extreme poverty can be reduced and millions of lives can be saved. This will of course require action and not mere words and good intentions. The G8 meeting in Scotland this year produced a renewed commitment to make the Millennium Development Goals become a reality. The recent meeting of world leaders at the United Nations in New York was not quite as clear-cut in its commitment to achieving the main goal of halving the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015. Australia’s Prime Minister, John Howard announced that he would increase Australia’s aid to developing countries but not to the amount that was agreed to in 2000. The amount will not even go half way to reaching the promised amount of 0.7% of our national income, despite the recently announced record budget surplus of over $13 billion for this financial year. According to John Howard in a recent interview: “People (in Australia) are better off than they have ever been” and yet the government cannot see its way to sharing this abundance with the more than 2 billion people who are struggling to survive on $US2 a day. Not only these people are being forgotten, those in Australia who struggle to participate in our society are also being left on the margins.

Obviously it is difficult to compare the plight of the poor in Africa with those suffering financial hardship in Australia. There are, however, some parallels. The Australian Senate conducted an extensive inquiry into poverty in Australia which was published in early 2004. This was the first time that the government had enquired into this issue for 30 years. The fact that there are over a million people by the most conservative estimate, living in poverty in Australia is to say the least, a shock. After all, we are living in one of the richest countries in the world and yet 21% of households (3.6 million people) bring in less than $400 dollars per week. The report of the Senate committee was discussed for a week or so and then seemingly forgotten. There was no plan of action, no sense of crisis, despite the countless stories of marginalised people living a precarious existence. It was left to organisations like the St Vincent de Paul Society to continue to highlight this issue so as to relieve the strain on the people they assist on a daily basis.

Who are the poor in Australia?

• The unemployed do not receive an income and must therefore depend on welfare payments. Unfortunately this payment is set at a level that is even lower than a pension and is set below the poverty line. There are half a million families who have no members in the paid workers. There are over 500,000 people unemployed in Australia. There are also around the same number who want to work more hours but cannot get the extra work. Those who do work part-time lose some of their welfare benefits and also have to pay tax on what they earn. This means that they may earn an extra $100 but lose $60 or $70 dollars! This is not a fair reward for the effort involved and hardly encourages people to work.

• The chronically ill and the disabled are often excluded from participating in the paid workforce and so must also rely on welfare payments. Illness and disability are barriers to participation. Mental illness is particularly problematic. Around 30% of the unemployed have been diagnosed with a mental illness further reducing their chances of gaining employment. It is a cycle that is difficult to break. Unemployment can lead to mental illnesses like depression and mental illness can act as a barrier to finding employment.

• Indigenous people experience greater levels of illness, living on average 20 years less than other Australians. They have fewer educational opportunities especially if they live in regional and remote parts of Australia. This in turn limits their employment opportunities. Lack of employment opportunities means lower income, worse health, interrupted schooling for children and so the cycle continues.

• Single parents also have fewer opportunities to participate in the paid workforce. After family breakdown, assets that have been accumulated often need to be sold off. It is difficult to begin again. Single parents often are unable to work more than part-time. This means that they are caught in the same poverty trap as others dependent on welfare.

All these people need support so as to break free from the cycle of poverty. Education, training, a fairer taxation system, better health care (including mental health services) and a welfare system which gives a hand up, rather than a hand out are all essential elements of a compassionate response to poverty, whether in Australia or elsewhere in the world. The struggle to “make poverty history” needs to continue wherever poverty is to be found. Australia often talks of “mateship” and the “fair go”. As someone once asked: Who is my Neighbour? Should we not ask in today’s Australia: Who is my mate? Are our mates only those that don’t need our help?