One in eight Australians live in poverty. Picture: ThinkStock Source: news.com.au
- ACOSS report says 2.2 million living in poverty
- Figures include 600,000 children
- "A wealthy country such as ours can, and should, do better to ensure everyone has an adequate standard of living."
A REPORT released this week by the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) revealed 2.2 million Australians are living below the poverty line.
The figure includes nearly 600,000 children, many who go to school without breakfast or lunch and suffer from social isolation.
In a separate report, Anglicare Australia found three in four families also struggle to put enough food on the table and 1 in 10 children sometimes miss school because their families feel guilty for not providing adequate food.
"Despite years of unprecedented growth and wealth creation, we have made little ground in combating the scourge of poverty with 1 in 8 people overall and 1 in 6 children living below the poverty line," said ACOSS director Dr Cassandra Goldie.
"A wealthy country such as ours can, and should, do better to ensure that everyone is afforded an adequate standard of living," she said.
"It is a fundamental human right."
News.com.au this week talked to a 65-year old man from Sydney who has been unable to find full-time work over the last 15 years since he was seriously injured by a workplace assault.
He tells the story of what it is like to be poor today in a wealthy first world country like Australia.
CHRIS Novak could be your father.
The 65-year-old from St Marys in Sydney's outer west has been married, had two sons, had a handful of career changes and a stint in the army.
And like 2.2 million Australians he now lives below the poverty line.
"I moved out west because my mother moved out here, she was on her own, so I thought I'd move out here to be close to her and settle down," he said.
"It wasn't the best choice I ever made, moving out west. Work-wise, there's a little bit of work out that way but I kept going back towards the city.
"When my mum passed away I moved down the coast for a couple years, not a good move either because there's no work. I've been back in St Marys since 2007.
"I worked in the clothing industry, retail clothing, and I joined the Army Reserves. I was called up for national service.
"Now I do voluntary work. Fridays I drive for one of the hospitals, picking up patients and taking them home.
"I feel like I'm in a rut," he added. "I don't know what to do anymore. You just have to carry on."
Chris receives $410 a week from the disability pension and rental assistance. He spends most of it on private rental although he's been on a housing commission waiting list for 10 years.
A portion of his money also goes towards keeping his car on the road. For 15 years he has been unable to get full-time work after being king hit while working at a bar.
"Some days I have a problem putting on my socks," said Chris.
Once a week the hospital supplies Mr Novak with lunch during his volunteer shift and the local RSL gives him a hot meal once a month. Otherwise it's pasta, cheap sausages and the occasional banana.
"Sometimes I don't cook, I have breakfast in the evening, I have cereal. I cope with what I've got," he said. "Sometimes I just lose my appetite and I don't feel like eating. With everything that builds up - you don't feel like eating."
Last week he spent more on his car than he did on his grocery bill.
He tried to start over in 1997, at age 50, by completing hospitality courses at TAFE but found it tough to work his way up from the bottom. He then took a disability pension.
Three years ago he was threatened with eviction when he asked his landlord to fix the pipes in his building. His parents are both gone and he's completely lost contact with his two sons.
In summer his place gets hot and on cold winter nights he'll often go to bed early because heaters chew into the power bill.
"There's no air conditioning. You've got to get your own fans and heaters, the money starts costing you. Heaters in the winter time cost you on power, you've got to keep yourself rugged up.
"You either go to bed early and throw your electric blanket on and try and keep your bills down. You've got to have comfort because you're not as young as you used to be. It's harder to handle when you're old."
He says he feels like he's "stuck between a rock and a hard place".
"I'd like to live some kind of normal life. I don't know what normal is anymore. You have to hope tomorrow is another day," he said.
"My dad died in the 80s, my mother died in 2004, my sister's always stressed out. I feel like I never get anywhere. With women I never make the best choices. I've been in and out of a relationship the last three years. I count my good friends on one hand. I feel like there's nothing there for me any more.
"I keep myself going on a daily basis and I don't know why."
Mr Novak told news.com.au how his weekly budget breaks down.
-Rent: $200
-Car (petrol, insurance, etc): $58
-General bills: $56
-Electricity/phone: $48
-Groceries: $50
-Clothing: $5
-Medication: $2.90
-Entertainment: $1.50
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