Janet CollinsAustralia’s Shameful Homeless Problem
July 9th 2009 10:11
The number of homeless people across Australia has been growing and growing for years. Only in the past year or so has it been given the media attention it deserves.
The report released today, Counting the Homeless, by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, tells a really good story. Huge increases in homelessness among the elderly and families don’t really give any comfort for the decreased figures in homelessness among teenagers and younger people.
This may come as no surprise to many because the global financial crisis has resulted in so many people losing their jobs and thus their homes. The trouble is this report covered the period 2001 to 2006.
Weren’t we prosperous then? That was long before Australia was in, or even heading for, a recession. In these times of "prosperity" there was a growing number of poor. The global market had created two streams of people in this country, something that was also given very little attention. There were the full time employed and even in this category came the very well off on good salaries, perhaps bonuses and share schemes. Then there were those who juggled multiple-part time or casual jobs and, of course, the total unemployed.
It was never really a secret that the number of homeless were growing each year but it was never really given too much exposure. In the so called “good times” the population was being convinced that everyone was very well off and this was everything of our previous government's doing.
The charities knew very differently. People were losing their jobs to India and other “more lucrative” countries, most of the work that was being “created” was either part-time or casual and the severe problem of “underemployment” was camouflaged by the “best unemployment figures of all time”.
It’s no secret that charities, reliant on government funding, were gagged over these years. The media gave very little attention to it. In fact, Counting the Homeless, has been released every year but only this year is it getting some much needed attention.
Many of the charities were crying out for years about the increased pressure on them for assistance to families and the elderly but without the help of a voice such as the media, they were left with little possibility of helping out the most unfortunate.
Today, these charities have said that these figures are very outdated and that the homeless number across the country is much larger than this report reveals.
Australia once would not have tolerated such neglect. It says something about a global system that removes our concern for our immediate community.
Obviously, this issue is not one that ensures votes because politicians seem to do little except appear in the media with a sympathetic word.
Sourced: www.abc.net.au;
Image credit: ABC
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Comment by Morgan Bell
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Artist Quirk
but when i moved to Darlinghurst in Sydney i saw how massive the problem was
i think until you see it for yourself, until you actually observe the huge amounts of people sleeping in parks and in doorways and under bridges, you cant really understand
Comment by Janet Collins
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The Social Critic
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That is really true. There is no doubt the problem has grown a lot bigger since the worldwide recession but it has been growing and growing for years before that.
That is something, I think, our journalists should be covering. If they did it more often, the politicians would get pressured into really doing something about it. It tends to get a little bit of coverage when a report like this comes out and then we don't hear about it anymore even though the problem isn't solved or even addressed.
Thanks.