SKIPPING meals and going without basics such as heating and electricity is part of everyday life for one in six Australian kids.
The plight of children living in poverty is being highlighted this week during Anti-Poverty Week, which runs from October 13-19, to coincide with International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17.
The issue is forecast to get worse, with research showing an increasing link between private rental stress and poverty.
According to a BankWest Curtain Economics Centre study, two thirds of single women and one half of single men aged over 55 years who are living in rented houses were living below the poverty line. Among single parent renters, two in five live below the poverty line.
Another study, the Anglicare Australia Rental Affordability Snapshot 2024, found that well under 1 per cent of available rental properties were affordable in Australia for people receiving working age government benefits, or for single people earning the minimum wage.
Research by the Australian Council of Social Services and the University of NSW found those at highest risk of poverty included people who were unemployed, receiving income support, renters, sole parents, women, children and people with disability, while those on Youth Allowance experienced deepest poverty.
In the Hunter, the St Vincent de Paul Society NSW alone helped more than 14,000 people last financial year, including more than 8400 dependants.
'New people every week'
Almost all of them (95 per cent) required food assistance, 31 per cent were seeking help for the first time, and half were experiencing housing stress.
Mary Ryan, a member and volunteer and Vinnies Eastlakes regional president, said she had seen a big increase in the number of homeless people who needed help.
"And every week we see new people coming to us," Mrs Ryan said.
Issues included unemployment due to illness, along with rent rises making rents unaffordable.
"Then if people have to leave their house and store their goods, that's another cost, and we're seeing marriages breakdown due to stress, and then someone has to leave the house with nowhere really to go, and that is what we are seeing more and more," Mrs Ryan said.
"There are people living in tents tucked away where no one can see them, some in their cars, some are couch surfing with people who are prepared to give them some space for a while."
Vinnies was advocating for them, Mrs Ryan said, but the powers that be needed to move "a little bit faster".
Meanwhile, Vinnies launched the Vinnies Van program in Newcastle in June to provide outreach services, providing meals, snack packs, and toiletries packs.
Hottest item? Food vouchers
Data from those assisted in the Maitland/Newcastle area reveals that more than 70 per cent live on a fortnightly income of less than $2000, while 30 per cent live on less than $1000 a fortnight.
The leading types of assistance provided were food vouchers ($1.37 million), clothing and household items ($235,500), and transport expenses ($130,000).
The lead recommendation of the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee's 2024 report to government was to increase income support payments, particularly for unemployed people and single parents.
The payment for people experiencing unemployment (JobSeeker) has been eroded, worth 68 per cent of the age pension as of June, 2024, compared with 90 per cent in the mid-1990s, despite an increase of $40 per fortnight announced in the May 2023 Budget.
The Curtin Economics Centre study found that child poverty in Australia had risen significantly in the years since COVID, and that children who experienced poverty and housing stress were significantly more likely to suffer nervousness or feel unhappy with their lives for up to 10 years after leaving home.
It also found that rising housing costs hit low-income families harder, with rents increasing by 17.8 per cent for lower quartile rentals between 2020-2022.
According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Australia has the 15th highest poetry rate out of 36 OECD countries.
