Poverty and Social Exclusion

Transcription

1 Poverty and Social Exclusion P overty is one of the most pervasive causes of social disadvantage. Poverty precludes people from having an acceptable standing of living, and denies them access to essential goods and activities. An estimated 413,000 people or 10.6% of Queenslanders are living below the poverty line 1. For a single adult, this means living on less than $281 per week. Both poverty and the cost of living are on the rise. Since June 2005 the average price of food has risen by 15%, rents have risen by over 17% 2 and household energy bills have risen by 32%. Long term unemployment is predicted to increase from 17,500 in to anything between 42,500 and 44,500 by Total unemployment is predicted to rise to 170,000 by June Poverty affects some population groups and locations more than others: the elderly, people in receipt of social security payments, single parents and renters. Some groups, such as people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, are more likely than others to experience persistent or ongoing poverty 4. Some of the most marginalised are Queensland s most poor. People with a disability and Indigenous people are more likely to live in poverty 5. The impact of unemployment on families cannot be underestimated. According to the latest ABS survey of Income and Housing, 130,000 Queensland children aged under 15 years of age are living in jobless households. Many of these children are less likely to do Multiple Disadvantage Some Queenslanders are far more likely to suffer poverty and social exclusion. And the effects are multiplied when individuals and families belong to more than one group. QCOSS recognises the serious disadvantage faced by: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities People in rural and remote communities Culturally and linguistically diverse communities People with a disability Young people Older people Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender communities well at school, or in the workforce, and are more likely to end up in the criminal justice system. 86% of jobless one parent families with children under 15 years indicated that they were unable to raise $2,000 within a week if something important arose, compared to 25 percent of households with one or more employed adults 6. A related problem is social exclusion, where people are not able to participate in social and community activities and lack access to key services and economic resources. Poverty is just one part of this picture. Language and cultural barriers, locational disadvantage or discrimination because of a disability can also play a part. Social exclusion is often the outcome of people or communities suffering from a range of problems such as unemployment, low incomes, poor housing, crime, poor health, disability and family breakdown 7. In combination, these problems can result in cycles of disadvantage, spanning generations and geographical regions. Social exclusion affects both the quality of life of individuals and the equity and cohesion of society as a whole. According to the index of relative socio-economic disadvantage

2 (SEIFA), 18% of the Queensland population is considered to be socially excluded 8. The rising unemployment rate, the ageing of the population and inequality of income distribution in Australia poses a significant risk that a larger proportion of the Queensland population will become socially excluded. There is an increasing number of elderly people living alone, with lone person households in Australia expected to increase by over 50% between 1996 to 2021 (from 1.6 million to between 2.4 and 3.4 million). Loneliness, lack of social interaction and impaired mobility contribute to social exclusion in the elderly. Poverty and social exclusion causes a great deal of deprivation, distress and suffering and leads to poor health outcomes. It also results in avoidable costs to Government in dealing with the consequences. Lost productivity from the socially excluded and those at risk are estimated to cost the Queensland Government $4.8 Billion. Similarly, tax loss is estimated at $3.12 Billion, social security savings $1.6 Billion and avoidable health costs $1.36 Billion 9. no social phenomenon is as comprehensive in its assault on human rights as poverty. Poverty erodes or nullifies economic and social rights such as the right to health, adequate housing, food and safe water, and the right to education. (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights) Key Issues for Queensland Poverty and social exclusion are multi dimensional requiring co-ordinated responses from a range of government and non-government agencies such as financial and employment services, health and disability services, and family and social support. Addressing the complexity of social exclusion requires a targeted, coordinated and assertive approach by government. Social inclusion approaches which have shown success are characterized by the setting of clear, long term priorities and targets which are centrally driven, a focus on strengthening and working with the community sector, service system reform and greater coordination and integration of government services. The Queensland Government has identified job creation as its priority in the budget. While this is laudable, there is a need to provide the support required to offer people an opportunity to participate in the workforce. This includes addressing the social, economic and cultural factors that create barriers to workforce participation. Programs such as Participate in Prosperity provide intensive assistance to disadvantaged people to address the multiple barriers to finding employment. It addresses issues such as: lack of suitable, stable housing; cultural or language issues; poor education or health; financial and family needs; and reliable transportation and childcare. The Queensland Government is lagging behind other states such as Victoria and South Australia in adopting a social inclusion agenda and yet there has never been a better time for action given the Australian Government has identified social inclusion as a high priority. There is clear need for the Queensland Government to: establish clear social inclusion priorities across human service agencies with specific areas of focus, targets, and systems for measuring effectiveness. These would go beyond the targets established in Toward Q2: Tomorrow s Queensland. develop integrated social planning systems (central and regional) to drive resource allocation. recognise the role of the community sector (not just government systems) in tackling social exclusion and devolve more service delivery to the community sector. 2 P age Poverty and Social Exclusion

3 Recognising Progress QCOSS acknowledges recent progress by the State Government particularly: The release of Toward Q2: Tomorrow s Queensland including targets relating to the economy, environment and lifestyle, education and training, health and community 10. The announcement of nine projects totalling $28.3 million over three years from the Treasurer s $70 million early intervention incentives pool including: community housing for young people for a mental illness; a Youth Enterprise Partnership; a program to improve literacy and numeracy in low SES schools in Logan; a program to prevent recidivism in juvenile offenders and those with cognitive or developmental disorders; and an early intervention domestic and family violence pilot project. The continuation of the Participate in Prosperity program which aims to link disadvantaged people, who are outside the labour force, with services and assistance to get jobs and increase their social inclusion. The expansion of the Special Circumstances Court, which delivers court-monitored interventions for defendants who are homeless or have mental illness, intellectual disability or cognitive impairment...the socially excluded.are not served well by traditional policies which are often based around one specific issue. This is because they display a range of personal characteristics and issues which require simultaneous action across a range of issues. 11 QCOSS Recommendations 1. Develop a Fair Queensland plan that incorporates all relevant strategies and targets from Toward Q2: Tomorrow s Queensland and the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) reform agenda. The goals of the COAG reform agenda are to boost productivity, workforce participation and geographic mobility, and support wider objectives of better services for the community, social inclusion, closing the gap on Indigenous disadvantage and environmental sustainability. The plan would be collaboratively developed with strong community participation and any gaps identified in the current reform agenda would be matched with additional strategies and specific funding. Central to the plan would be a commitment to create a more equal society where (as the evidence shows) all Queenslanders will do better. 2. Critical program elements that go beyond the existing Toward Q2: Tomorrow s Queensland must include: job creation policies and programs which identify and address the multiple barriers faced by disadvantaged people to participation in the workforce; provision of integrated family support services for those most at risk including home visiting, parenting support and outreach; closing the gap in outcomes for Indigenous Queenslanders; a sustaining tenancies approach to reduce homelessness; and accessibility planning to ensure that transport services link disadvantaged people to the services they need including health care, jobs, food shops and education. Poverty and Social Exclusion Page 3

4 3. Ensure additional government investment is accompanied by service system reform in community sector services and inclusion of this sector in the planning and design of interventions. 4. Boost funding for emergency relief and enhanced community development capacity through community and neighbourhood programs. 5. Ensure early intervention approaches are central. The cost of crisis responses to social dysfunction caused by poverty and exclusion is growing out of control. Whether it is paying for our rapidly expanding police force, courts system and prison system, or doubling and tripling the investment in child protection, the cost is unsustainable. 4 P age Poverty and Social Exclusion

5 1 Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) Australian Fair: Update on those missing out. 2 Queensland Council of Social Service (2009). Poverty in Queensland. The University of Queensland Social Research Centre (UQSRC). Brisbane 3 Queensland Council of Social Service, Prof John Mangan (2009) Implications for the Queensland Economy from Current World Economic Conditions 4 Household Income Labour Data 5 Queensland Council of Social Service (2009.) Poverty in Queensland. The University of Queensland Social Research Centre (UQSRC). Brisbane 6 Queensland Council of Social Service (2009.) Poverty in Queensland. The University of Queensland Social Research Centre (UQSRC). Brisbane. 7 UK Social Inclusion Unit ntal Toward Q2:Tomorrow s Queensland 11 This paper is part of QCOSS s policy platform that contains over 20 policy papers. Go to for other papers including Mental Health, Violence Prevention, and Social Inclusion. Ground floor, 20 Pidgeon Close (off Beesley St), West End Qld 4101 PO Box 3786, South Brisbane Qld 4101 Ph: (07) Fax: (07) Toll Free qcoss@qcoss.org.au Website: Poverty and Social Exclusion Page 5