The head of Anti-Poverty Week has told a Senate Inquiry that the Government should be making clear, quantifiable commitments to reduce child poverty in Australia. 

Toni Wren Executive Director, Anti-Poverty Week told Senators as part of the public hearings into the Extent and Nature of Poverty in Australia federal inquiry this month that  We know from Foodbank Australia's report and from Anti-Poverty Week that last year 1.3 million children in Australia lived in a household that was hungry.  

With at least four communities on the western plains listed in the top ten of the most disadvantaged local government areas according to the SEIFA (Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas), child poverty is by no means a problem that happens 'somewhere else' and the push is on for change.



“Legislation committing to halve child poverty with actions and measurable targets that need to be reported on by the parliament would be a positive way to go” Wren said.  

“We at Anti-Poverty Week have looked to the New Zealand model. The previous Prime Minister there, when she was in opposition, made a huge commitment: to halve child poverty by 2030. She introduced legislation within a hundred days of her election,” she told the Committee. 

ABOVE: Toni Wren from Anti-Poverty Week. Image: Anti-Poverty week. 

Wren was a number of people to tell the Government that the key to reducing child poverty is to lift the rate of welfare payments, particularly Jobseeker. 

The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) says there should be a "real" increase to income support payments, which it said were inadequate before cost-of-living expenses recently accelerated. 

ACOSS told the inquiry the cost of rent had risen by at least 10 per cent, food by more than 9 per cent, and electricity by almost 9 per cent. 

Tomorrow, on Monday March 20, income support payments including JobSeeker will increase by 3.7 per cent in line with the Consumer Price Index (CPI). JobSeeker will increase by $1.77 a day, taking the daily payment for a single person from $48 to $50. 

Child Poverty Reduced During COVID 

Greg Jericho Policy Director for the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute told the inquiry “... the government's decision to effectively double the jobseeker rate from a base of $565.70 a fortnight to $1,115 for a single person” meant that “the supplement in an instant lifted almost half a million Australians out of poverty, including 75,000 children. The experience of the pandemic has revealed what has long been known but not always tested—that poverty is a policy choice”. 

He said that the discussion about alleviating cost of living has been dominated by stage 3 tax cuts “where nearly half of the benefit goes to the top four per cent of taxpayers”. 

Wren told the inquiry that the experience of COVID and the way rates of payments went up showed how raising income is the best way to reduce poverty.  

The head of Anti-Poverty Week told Senators children are going to school hungry and experiencing the stress of their parents concerns about becoming homeless.“We are one of the richest countries in the world. If we don't address the income, we cannot do anything else.”.  

Wren also said child poverty was being caused by “at least $2 billion in unpaid child support owed to children” across Australia and noted research by Professor Sharon Bessell showing minors living in poverty were aware of their situation.

“They stop giving their parents birthday party invitations, and school excursion notes. They know their parents can't afford to do that. It is something we have to tackle.”