Poverty

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Poverty Inequality in Australia

• SWP12SP SWP12PPI
• Lecture 2
• Maureen Long

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Lecture outline

• Tutorial lists
• Voices of the poor
• Brief history of Australian poverty over time
• Causes of poverty
• Inequality in Australia video excerpt
• Who is most affected?
• References

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The Left Out and Missing Out Study

• Two-year study SPRC, ACOSS, BSL, Mission
  Australia and Anglicare Sydney
• Purpose To identify what constitutes the main
  elements if a minimally decent lifestyle in
  contemporary Australia and assess who is missing
  out (deprivation) and who is left out (social
  exclusion)
• 92 participants 70 clients/22 staff NSW. VIC

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• HousingI mean its fine being offered a place
  but if the toilet leaks or the roof leaks above
  your bed and all of this, I mean what kind of
  standards of living is that?
• Health Everyone should be entitled to the same
  type of health regardless of their financial
  situation

5

• Care Support Some government agencies they
  dont talk to you they talk down to you
• Its very hard to go out and meet new friends.
  Its close to impossible because you just cant
  afford to do things

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• Education If you cant get an education, you
  cant get nothing, so youre down the bottom of
  the scrap heap
• Financial I think everyone of us in here has
  foregone, usually its food we forgo, its the
  easiest thing to do because we must all pay the
  rent, that is our first priority. Then of course
  we have to pay the bills like electric, gas pr
  phoneourselves is the last important thing we
  have to pay for.

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Australian poverty over time

• 1890s Major economic depressionthousands out
  of work no social security to support families
  those in work experienced poor pay and conditions
  up till then the colony had been seen as a
  workers paradise (for white workers). However,
  from this experience came increased labour
  activity unions grew, forerunner of the ALP,
  idea that this level of human misery is not
  acceptable. www/http//john.curtin.edu.au/shapingt
  henation/htm/theme1_box2.htmimg5,

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• I wonder would the apathy of wealthy men endure
  were all their windows level with the faces of
  the poorthe wrong things and the bad things and
  the sad things that we meet in the filthy lane
  and alley and the cruel/heartless street
  (Derived from the poetry of Henry Lawson Faces in
  the Street John Schumann, CD Lawson Recorded
  in 2005, Bombora Records.

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• 1930s Depression Huge unemployment, (21 in
  mid-1930)forced evictions, people living in
  appalling conditions
• 1970s--Commission of Enquiry into Poverty
  estimated that less than two per cent of
  families with an adult in full-time employment
  could be described as poor -- poverty was mainly
  a problem for those who could not get waged work.
  (Eardley, T. 1998)

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• 1970s main group in poverty were the aged who
  did not own their own home
• 2000s Despite significant economic activity and
  prosperity for large numbers of Australians, the
  economic boom has passed many by e.g. defaulting
  on mortgages has increased by over 90 in parts
  of Western Sydney

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Current Poverty Statistics

• Poverty rate amongst adult Australians estimated
  at 11 - gender breakdown men11.2 women11
• Poverty most pronounced in age groups 15-24
  years17.4 and 55-64 years 12.8
• Single adults either alone or with children
• Unemployed have the highest rate of poverty when
  defining by labour status (NATSEM 2004)

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Causes of poverty

• Poverty is not just caused by individual
  experiences but by major inequalities built into
  the structure of Australian society
• (ACOSS Causes of Poverty The facts 2005)
• Many families are struggling to make ends meet on
  a minimum wage that does not meet their basic
  living costs

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• Unemployment dependence upon benefits which do
  not provide living wage
• Poor educational attainment relationship
  between unemployment and level of educational
  achievedpeople with a degree have unemployment
  rate of around 3 whereas people who did not
  complete secondary education have an unemployment
  rate of around 11

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Impacts of poverty

• Housinglack of access to affordable, decent
  accommodation
• Health-higher stress levels associated with
  living in poverty
• Services unequal access to community services to
  enable people to participate in life
• (ACOSS ibid.)

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• Inability to pay everyday bills
• Dependent upon family/friends for assistance
• Sell anything of value
• Go without meals
• Inability to heat home
• Increasing vulnerability to impact of illness

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• Personal impacthardship, stress, relationship
  damage, inability to participate in society, poor
  health, reduced life chances for children, poor
  housing.
• Sense of failure and estrangement
• Having to seek assistance from community services
• Unable to plan for the future

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Australia compared
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Inequality in Australia

• Inequality is not just about access to income but
  capacity to access services, opportunities,
  community resources etc
• Australia does poorly in respect of wealth
  sharing-top 10 of wealth holders own 45 of
  household wealth, lowest 50 own only 7. (BSL
  2002)

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Inequality in Australia (cont.)

• Australian Business CEOs third highest paid in
  the world after UK and USA despite profit
  downturns in some companies, CEOs continue to
  attract massive salaries average 1.4 million
  average wage 40,000
• http//bosswatch.labor.net.au/campaigns/general/10
  31717447_28193.php
• Growing economic inequality has many consequences
  social, economic, political, health etc.

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• Impact on life chances for children
• Increased disaffection, social exclusion etc.
  Macquarie Fields NSW Labor Premier Bob Carr said
  that the cause of the clashes was not the social
  disadvantage of many residents, but simply the
  work of bad people AGE Newspaper 2005
• Inequalities in health with lower socio-economic
  groups having higher death rates and more serious
  chronic illness
• Inequalities in housing with more home ownership
  in higher groups paying higher of income on
  housing.

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Who is most affected?

• ATSI people are one of the most disadvantaged
  groups in Australia (infant mortality, health
  outcomes unemployment etc.)
• Unemployed people
• Sole parent families
• People with disabilities
• Asylum seekers/refugees

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Inequality in Australia

• Income distribution not equal lower
  socio-economic groups have a lower share than
  higher income groups
• Inequalities in health with lower socio-economic
  groups having higher mortality rates and more
  serious chronic illness
• Inequalities in housing with more home ownership
  in higher income groups but lower income groups
  paying more of their income in housing costs

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Inequalities in education, work and location

• Major differences between working wealthy and
  working poor households
• Children in disadvantaged households less likely
  to complete Year 12 and go onto university
• Less likely to attract full-time employment
  more casual, insecure work

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Impact of poverty

• Personal hardships and stress
• Relationship damage,
• Sense of alienation, stigma, social exclusion
• Poor housing
• Unexpected illness/mishap can have catastrophic
  impact
• All of the above contribute to poorer overall
  well-being outcomes

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What is communitys view?

• View of poverty changes over time, influenced by
  culture, current economic climate etc.may be
  attributed to individual behaviour-gambling,
  substance abuse etc. to
• No one should be living in poverty in Australia
  (BSL op. cit.)
• Sense of deserving/undeserving poor
• Where do our ideas about poverty come from?

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Why an issue?

• Poverty has lasting effectsreducing poverty now
  is an investment for the future-likely to lead to
  better quality of life for millions of
  Australians, reduce Government spending on social
  security and lessen the gap between rich and poor
  in Australian society ACOSS 2005 National
  Anti-Poverty Plans The Facts

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References

• ACOSS (2005) Causes of Poverty-The Facts
• Facts, figures and suggestions for the future
  Poverty. BSL Information Sheet No. 1
• Australian in poverty in the 21st century. (2004)
  National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling
• Measuring poverty in an era of prosperity
  Saunders, P. (2006) UNSW
• McClelland, A. (La Trobe University-2007)

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References cont.

• Saunders, P., Sutherland, K., Hampshire, A.
  King, S. (2005) Experiencing poverty The voices
  of low-income Australians. Presented to the
  Anti-Poverty Week Social Policy in the City
  Seminar, October 18, 2005