Morrison urged to follow Hawke’s lead on poverty

SCOTT Morrison has been urged to follow former prime minister Bob Hawke’s lead and focus on the country’s most needy after data revealed one in eight Australians adults and one in six children are living in poverty. The Australian Council of Social Service and UNSW joint study found 13.6 per cent of the population – or 3.24 million people – are estimated to be living below the poverty line after taking account of housing costs.

Of those, 774,000 children under the age of 15 are living in poverty, the study published yesterday found.

ACOSS chief executive Cassandra Goldie says it’s wrong that poverty is entrenched in one of the wealthiest countries in the world.

Dr Goldie called on the government to raise welfare payments by at least $95 a week, invest in social housing and boost jobs growth.

“The number of people living beyond the poverty line is entrenched, it’s persistent .... the economy is leaving far too many people behind,” she told reporters in Sydney yesterday.

Researchers warned Australia’s poverty rate was worse than most wealthy countries including New Zealand, Germany and Ireland.

In Australia, the poverty line is considered to be $457 per week for a single adult, which is 50 per cent of the median income.

Dr Goldie says former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke made a commitment to end child poverty in Australia, and she called on the nation’s current PM to do the same.

Mr Hawke reduced child poverty by 30 per cent, the ACOSS chief executive said.