<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/mar/22/majority-of-australians-on-jobseeker-and-parenting-payments-live-in-poverty-in-study-finds>
"The majority of people on the jobseeker and parenting payments are living in
poverty while about a third of single parents are also below the breadline,
according to a new study.
A report from the University of New South Wales and the Australian Council of
Social Service, to be released on Wednesday, provides further insight into the
demographics of 3 million people, including 761,000 children, previously
identified as living in poverty in the 2019-20 financial year.
The Labor government awaits a separate report from the independent economic
inclusion advisory committee, which was established to comment on the adequacy
of welfare payments before the May budget.
The Acoss report uses the relative poverty line measure of 50% of median
household income, meaning a single person living on less than $489 a week was
in poverty. For a couple with two children, the poverty line was $1,027 a week.
It found 60% of people on the jobseeker payment, 72% of people on the parenting
payment, and 34% of people on youth allowance lived in poverty.
The same was true for 34% of sole parent families, compared with 11% of people
in partnered families with children.
The gendered aspect of poverty was demonstrated by the fact 18% of households
where the main earner was a woman were below the breadline. The figure was 10%
when the main earner was male.
Home ownership was also a key indicator: 20% of private renters and 52% of
those in public housing were in poverty, compared with 10% for homeowners with
a mortgage and 8% for homeowners without one."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
