New legislation was passed last week to move single parents off the parenting payment, and onto the Newstart Allowance once their youngest child turns eight. Advocates for this change suggest that the…
Is the number of Australians in poverty increasing, or are the statistics being interpreted inaccurately?
Flickr\Vermin Inc
Over two million Australians are currently living in poverty, according to a report released yesterday by Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS). Dr Cassandra Goldie of ACOSS says that it is a “national…
Workplace Relations Minister Bill Shorten has agreed to examine Newstart rates after ruling out a raise to the dole earlier this week.
AAP
Why do we have welfare policies that create unnecessary poverty? Despite a multitude of reports, submissions, public pleas and other advocacy on the problems of Newstart (NSA) recipients, the government…
The longer children spend in poverty, the higher the risk of them developing chronic stress by the age of 17. Factors associated…
Policymakers should ensure that the safety net provides adequate income for daily needs as well as ensuring that people are positioned to quickly reintegrate into satisfactory paid employment.
freefotouk
In the late 1990s, American writer and activist Barbara Ehrenreich spent a year working in low end jobs in the United States documenting the pitifully low wages, the oppression, and barriers to upward…
The poorest people in the world have the largest burden of disease.
Jon Baldock
Kate Taylor, The University of Melbourne and Rob Moodie, The University of Melbourne
A somewhat diverting paper on obesity came out earlier this week. It’s based on a cute idea – looking at what overweight people do to global resource requirements instead of the more traditional approach…
Can ethical markets solve the problems of persistent poverty and global income inequality?
Michelle Brea
In part seven of our multi-disciplinary Millennium Project series, Adrian Walsh argues that a humane market asks something of us that we may not want to give. Global challenge 7: How can ethical market…
Feeding the world is entirely feasible, but food distribution remains a significant challenge.
edwin van buuringen
The Economist has its critics, but it still delivers lots of interesting data. I just found this table (published by EconomistDailyChart) of annual meat consumption per person by country. The data set…
The not-for-profit Foodbank Australia represents one of the largest distributors of food to hungry Australians. But what is the role of government?
AAP
Globally, more than 800 million people are chronically undernourished. And some of these people live in Australia. Of course, these people do not live in desperate refugee camps; and most do not endure…
The rise of extreme wealth has gone hand-in-hand with absolute poverty in the US.
AAP
The rediscovery of inequality is one of the more startling realisations of the post-global financial crisis, post-globalisation world. A Berkeley University professor Emmanuel Saez with colleagues has…
Nearly 90% of the long term homeless people surveyed in the study had experienced child abuse.
SamPac
Failing to help the homeless can come with a high cost to the public purse, with many ending up in hospitals for treatment of substance abuse and chronic health problems, a study has found. A joint research…
Being unable to afford one substantial meal a day and pay for home insurance are indicators of poverty.
Flickr/27147
Poverty is about more than just a lack of income. Those who experience it face unacceptable restrictions on their material and social wellbeing. Research can no longer focus on defining a poverty line…