Table of Contents

Graph

Living Standards

Definition of Living Standards

The quality of housing, material wellbeing (goods and services) and wealth available to be experienced by an individual or a group to fulfil certain needs and wants. There are numerous indexes by which living standard can be measured, such as:

Definition of Poverty

A state or condition in which an individual or group lacks the financial resources required to achieve and maintain a minimum living standard

Guiding Questions

  1. How is poverty defined in Australia by the Australian government? Poverty can be described a either absolute or relative poverty.
    • Absolute poverty refers to being financially unable to afford basic requirements for living, such as food and shelter.
    • Relative poverty refers to being financially unable to afford to participate in the basic activities of a society. For example, a family in relative poverty may be able to afford food, shelter, etc., but unable to afford eating at restaurants regularly. They are not in absolute poverty, but compared to other individuals in their society they are in relative poverty.
  2. Is it defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics? It is defined by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. For someone to be below the poverty line in Australia according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, they must earn less than $10 an hour.
  3. Identify the number of homeless people in each state, including information on each capital city. In total, there are 116600 people considered homeless in Australia. As of 2016 there are:
    • 4979 homeless people in Sydney
    • 1721 homeless people in Melbourne
    • 2188 homeless people in Brisbane
    • 886 homeless people in Perth
    • 644 homeless people in Adelaide
    • 309 homeless people in Hobart
    • 825 homeless people in Darwin
    • 1599 homeless people in the ACT
  4. Provide an explanation on how poverty levels have changed in Australia over the last 20 years. Poverty levels had been relatively static from 1999 to 2007, from 13.1% to 11.5% by 2003. It would rise dramatically as a result of Australia's boom year, ending at 14.4% by 2007. From 2007-08, the Global Financial Crisis and a pension increase resulted in a fall to 12.6%, and a rise to 13.1% by 2017.
  5. How many children are in poverty in Australia and what does it mean we say, 'Children in Australia are living in poverty?' Poverty rate for children followed a similar rate to the overall poverty level in Australia, but affects a much greater percentage of the population. After the Global Financial Crisis it was only slightly decreased by increases in pensions, and would drastically increase to 17.7% by 2015-16, much greater when compared to the overall poverty level. When we say 'Children in Australia are living in poverty', we are referring to the appalling standards of living a significant proportion of children experience. Not all children in Australia live in poverty, but enough do to be of significant concern.
  6. What is the difference between poverty levels in different communities in Australia (Indigenous and non-indigenous)? Poverty rates for Indigenous Australians are particularly high. In 2016, the poverty rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians was around 31%. Furthermore, there is significant geographical variance for Indigenous Australian poverty, being concentrated general within the most remote, rural areas of Australia. For migrant populations in 1966, the poverty rate was 9.8%, but when considering costs for housing this rate rose to 12.3%. The female population in Australia makes up the highest share of individuals in poverty (53%). Notably, people with disability make up 37%, 2-parent households make up 34%, and those with a pension 23-28%.
  7. Evaluative: How effective is Australia's welfare system in tackling poverty.  Hint: think unemployment, pension, disability benefits.
    • For most of the past few years, the Australian people have been governed by the Liberal-National Coalition, which support more neo-liberal policies for welfare. The main objective of their policy was to minimise government intervention through restrictive social security payment. The government made welfare the responsibility of corporations instead of government.
    • Data shows the government's fiscally conservative agenda was not well implemented, with spending on welfare faculties increasing. This funding has been directed to disadvantaged groups. Australia's welfare system has struggled with increased globalisation, as power falls into the unsteady hands of corporations.
    • Australia's welfare system is built on the concept of welfare for the employed with benefits and social rights mainly guaranteed for wage earners. The welfare system brings residual support for struggling families.
    • A staggered change to the welfare system towards privatisation has been opposed by the economic situation Australia finds itself in. Australia's welfare system attempted to de-fund welfare advocacy groups, intending to reduce the autonomy of independent welfare-related groups.
    • A deregulation of the labour market was implemented, on the premise that minimum wage results in unemployment for under-skilled workers, alongside the idea of wages being higher than support packages for the unemployed, to incentivise employment.
    • Benefits were also cut according to fluctuations in real wages. The Liberal-National government worked to prevent dependency on the welfare system. This was done by gradually restricting access to services over time of usage.
    • A core part of the neo-liberal economic policy implemented was the concept of mutual obligation. In essence, neo-liberals believe in a difference between "deserving" poor and the "undeserving" poor, where the underserving poor are dependent on welfare not by choice, and thus deserve the support of the welfare system.
    • As a result of these changes, the Australian welfare state has been uprooted and changed over time. The results indicate moderate success, with a general increase in income over time. However, this increase in income may be affected by changes in inflation.
    • This is further backed by a general decrease in the poverty rule for Australia. With the Liberal-National Howard government commencing during 2007, the rate has fallen from 12.5% to 10.3% by the end of 2016.
    • However, while the policy lowered the general poverty rate, Indigenous Australians still find themselves at a greater risk of poverty, with a poverty rate of 26% by the end of 2016, more than double the overall rate.
    • The government was successful in reducing dependency on the welfare system. However, it requires a greater funding for client employment incentives. It needs to tackle inequities in a changing labour market.
    • In summary, the implementation of a neo-liberal agenda within Australia's welfare system has brought mild success in combatting poverty and stabilising poverty rates through turbulent global economic crises.

What causes poverty?

There are numerous global causes for poverty, such as:

Causes of poverty in Australia

In Australia, the main cause of poverty is wealth inequality. Recent economic issues such as the housing crisis also influence poverty.

Solutions to poverty in Australia

Greater funding and expansion of Australia's welfare system could help lift people out of poverty. Furthermore, more fiscal/monetary intervention towards policy that makes critical goods such as housing more affordable can relieve some families of financial stresses.