Leaving poverty unchecked is a choice of government, let’s ask why, writes Adrienne Picone.
The word ‘poverty’ gets bandied around a lot, and the prospect of solving it is routinely consigned by decision-makers to the ‘too hard basket.’ No doubt keeping the status quo is easier, perhaps politically safer, as it panders to the misconception by some that poverty is a choice made by individuals, or self-inflicted.
But what message does keeping the status quo send to the tens of thousands of Tasmanian families living in poverty who are being forced to have gut-wrenching conversations with their children each and every day?
We’ve heard firsthand from parents about the sense of shame they feel from living below the poverty line. The guilt of not being able to afford new school uniforms, or put healthy, nutritious meals on the table, or the anguish of not being able to pay for their children to participate in sporting and extracurricular activities.
“Sorry, we can’t afford it,” parents are often forced to say.
“Maybe next paycheck.
“I’ll get it for you for Christmas next year, I promise.”
When disposable income is inadequate, households are forced into a battle of prioritising one essential over another. Fuel versus rent. Rent versus power. Power versus health care. It is a game of trading off wellbeing for survival.
The impacts on households in poverty are particularly acute for children and young people. As youth homelessness rates continue to rise and more young people find it impossible to secure housing or employment, it becomes increasingly difficult for families and communities to keep their young people safe.
This Anti-Poverty Week, our thoughts are with all those Tasmanian families who are struggling to make ends meet, as well as the community organisations working so hard to support them and keep them safe and well.
To raise awareness of the devastating impact the cost of living crisis is having on Tasmania’s children, this week community service partners will join together to highlight the scale of child poverty in Australia, featuring a display of 100 lunch boxes, of which 17 will be empty, to reflect the reality of one in six children in Australia living below the poverty line.
This comes as new research from Foodbank Australia confirms low income households are enduring the highest rates of food insecurity since the onset of the cost of living crisis. Almost half (48%) of Australia’s low income households are experiencing food insecurity, with the most common contributing factors being the combination of higher costs of housing and essential goods, particularly food and utilities, while wages continue to fall behind.
In a country as wealthy as ours, there is no excuse for more than 21,000 Tasmanian children growing up in poverty.
And to those who say poverty is too big or too complicated to solve, we have done it before — as recently as during the height of the pandemic, when the government increased income support and lifted more than 215,000 children out of poverty.
TasCOSS has recently advocated for urgent action to protect children and young people from a future of ongoing financial precarity, highlighting the links between poverty and experiences of child sexual abuse, involvement in the criminal justice system, and disengagement from schooling.
Evidence shows that childhood poverty often leads to poor physical and mental health, and diminished educational outcomes. And left unchecked, the cycle of poverty repeats across generations.
So, what can be done about it?
Reducing poverty starts with governments exercising every policy lever at their disposal to give Tasmanians the support they desperately need. This includes setting income support payments at a rate that does not cause any child to live in poverty, and ensuring adequate, long-term funding for the essential community organisations working alongside them.
A safe, affordable place to call home is, and will always remain, a central rung in the climb out of poverty.
It is therefore incumbent on the Tasmanian Government to open up access to social and affordable housing by rapidly increasing supply, taking action to boost the rights and protections afforded to tenants, and limiting rent increases to avoid price gouging.
Because ultimately, poverty is a question of choice — not for individuals, but for governments. And at a time when there are growing calls from the community for assistance, the choice they make is vital.
It is high time for our governments to step up to the plate and set a target and policy measures for bringing down instances of poverty, and to reduce some of the immense impost that is being unfairly placed on Tasmanian families.
Families who, far from wanting the world, simply want to be active and connected in their community, but lack the financial means to do so.
Adrienne Picone is the chief executive of the Tasmanian Council of Social Service (TasCOSS).
Find more about the events happening around the state during Anti-Poverty Week (13-19 October 2024) by visiting the online events calendar: antipovertyweek.org.au/events