Poverty in the Lucky Country

In the lucky country, the people at the bottom of the heap are falling even further behind. A seminar at State Parliament on Wednesday will look at the ways in which this wealthy country is failing its poor.

Michael Raper, President of the National Welfare Research Network, will describe the silent debt mountain being amassed by young, poor and often homeless people, usually under 20, who are already vulnerable and who qualify for the Youth Allowance if they are at school or looking for work. But their difficult living conditions often mean they drop out of the system, and incur penalties and debts to Centrelink for 'overpayments' or advances which then are deducted from an already too-low allowance. They face adult life with spiralling debts and no way of paying them.

The Rev Bill Crews, Director of the Exodus Foundation, tells the story of a homeless, disoriented woman who was diagnosed with a bloodclot. She required a daily injection for two weeks, but she was refused admission to hospital on the grounds that her case was not medically severe enough, and psychiatric institutions are not designed for cases such as this. In the end, the staff of the Exodus Foundation scoured the streets for her every day to ensure she received what she needed.

Rev Crews, Michael Raper and Leah Godfrey (Director, Western Sydney Community Forum) are the speakers at a forum entitled Poverty in the Lucky Country.

This event is part of Anti Poverty Week 2002, organised by University of New South Wales Social Justice Network.

What: Poverty in the Lucky Country
When: Wednesday, 16 October 2002
Where: Jubilee Room, NSW Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney

CONTACT DETAILS: Louisa Wright, UNSW Public Affairs and Development, tel. 9385 3644 or Professor Julian Disney, UNSW Social Justice Network, tel. 9385 2850, 9804 0631.