A charity feeding over 700,000 Australians a month says the Federal Government has almost halved its funding less than two months out from Christmas. The Coalition maintains no money has been cut from the overall food-security budget but it has just been split between different organisations.
More than 13 per cent of Victorians are living in poverty across all communities, with more than a quarter of adults affected having a job, an analysis of Census data shows.
Victorian Council of Social Service CEO Emma King says the data dispels two myths about poverty in "modern Australia" - firstly that no area of Victoria is poverty free and secondly that a job is a guaranteed pathway out of poverty.
The National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling revealed 13.2 per cent, or 774,000, Victorians live in poverty, with Ms King saying this showed some people "just can't get enough hours or are paid too little to make ends meet".
Australian Council of Social Service revealed that in Australia there are just over 3 million people (13.2%) living below the poverty line of 50% of median income – including 739,000 children (17.3%). ... Many of those affected are living in deep poverty – on average, this is a staggering $135 per week below the poverty line. (Sep 21, 2018)
