Major report to reveal extent of poverty in Australia

Who: ACOSS CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie and Catherine Yeomans, CEO of Mission Australia; people living in poverty, and representatives other community welfare agencies.

When: Start time – 10.30am Sunday 16 October 2016

Venue: Mission Australia Centre (MAC) Kingswood

Address: 46 Bringelly Road, Kingswood, NSW 2747

MAP: http://bit.ly/2dgNt8u
 

ACOSS and leading charities will reveal the latest snapshot of Poverty in Australia at 10.30am on Sunday 16th October 2016.

The report will identify the number of people living in poverty in the country, which groups of people are affected by poverty, and poverty trends.

For the first time the comprehensive report will include comparable data over a 10-year period that allows a deeper trend analysis of how we are fairing as a nation in the fight against poverty.

Media outlets and journalists are encouraged to attend the press conference which will include the voices of people living in poverty and representatives from a range of community welfare agencies.

Also present will include:

• Dr Cassandra Goldie, CEO, ACOSS
• Catherine Yeomans, CEO Mission Australia
• Brad McIver - Lieutenant, Salvation Army Community Service Operations Manager (Doorways/Moneycare/Communities for Children)
• People with lived experience of poverty and other representatives of Australia’s community welfare sector.

Equal Pay Day

Social determinants – how class and wealth affect our health

• Published on September 1, 2016

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Michael J. Evans

Managing Director at MJE Consultancy

Inequities in wealth and income are one of the biggest social, economic and political challenges of our time. It’s important to address these inequities for three key reasons.

Economic costs: Inequity undermines the well-being of a nation’s economy and impedes efficient economic growth. Being financially reliant on and influenced by a small few also builds vulnerability into the economic system.

Social costs: Inequity erodes daily living conditions, wastes human capital and reduces social cohesion. Each of these is necessary for a flourishing, cohesive and secure society.

Health costs: Inequity harms people’s sense of self and prevents access to the conditions necessary for health. Poorer health results in greater health-care costs for the nation.

So how do inequities of wealth and income manifest in Australia? And what are the implications for the nation’s health?

Not everyone has a fair go at living a long, healthy and prosperous life. People at the bottom of the social hierarchy tend to have worse health than those in the middle, who in turn have poorer health than those at the top.

This observation, known as the social gradient in health, is seen in countries around the world including Australia. It applies to a number of health outcomes including depression, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

“Who” you are and where you come from has a remarkable impact on your health. Take Anna’s story, for example.

Anna is 44 years old and lives with her elderly mother in one of the most socioeconomically disadvantaged urban areas in the country. She is quite overweight, smokes a lot and suffers from depression, but is not inclined to visit her doctor.

Like Anna, the poor consistently gain less from health services than the better-off, which leads to untreated disease. This is known as the inverse care law.

Anna left school with very few qualifications. Like her economically disadvantaged peers, Anna was always more likely to do poorly in school and to drop out earlier than students in the wider population. These teens grow into adults who have lower incomes and are less empowered to provide for themselves and family.

The growth of temporary, part-time and informal work in high-income countries has affected working conditions, with declining job control, financial security and access to paid family leave and flexible working hours.

Anna works in a call centre for a large telecommunications company. Her job involves dealing with customer complaints all day, every day. She has no control over the nature of her work or how it gets done, other than to use the mute button on the call.

On the up side, Anna has a permanent position with six weeks of holidays per year. But her wage hasn’t increased in the past five years.

Anna is financially reliant on her single wage. She cannot afford to buy her own place, which is why she lives at home with her mother.

People such as Anna who work in precarious or low-paid jobs don’t have the easy choice of living in areas close to their work. House prices are partly to blame for this social disconnection. The land value gradient growth in many Australian cities in recent years is reinforcing a very strong social stratification of choice and opportunity for generations to come.

The quality of working conditions is related to mental health. For people such as Anna, poor-quality work can in fact be worse for health than not having a job at all.

Income inequity is related to the rates of poorer health in a number of areas, from alcohol-attributable hospitalisations and deaths, to child health, to oral health.

But health is not determined by absolute wealth. Rather, it is contingent on those around us and how wealth is distributed and spent – what people are able to be and to do.

Three interconnected pathways may explain the association between income inequity and health inequities.

The “social capital” hypothesis suggests higher levels of income inequity in a society increase the status differentials between individuals. This reduces social mixing across groups, thereby reducing levels of interpersonal trust.

This can give rise to feelings of social exclusion, insecurity and stress, as well as leading to decreased life expectancy.

The “status anxiety” hypothesis argues inequity damages individuals' perceptions of their place in the social hierarchy. In other words, less wealthy people see themselves as less worthy.

The perception of inferiority induces shame and distrust, which directly damages a person’s health via processes in the brain, but also by reducing levels of social capital.

The “neo-materialist” hypothesis suggests there is systematic under-investment in social infrastructure and services in more unequal societies. Social infrastructure influences the level of individual financial resources and provides services such as education, health services, transportation and housing.

One example of this under-investment is the Commonwealth government’s proposed removal of the energy supplement. This means people who are unemployed, living on A$38 per day, face losing a minimum of A$4.40 a week. For people on Newstart, A$4.40 buys essentials such as bread or milk.

As elsewhere, modern Australia has not served all social groups equally. The systematic differences in social and health outcomes suggest the opportunities open to people were not equal to start with.

In a society where material rewards are used as the yardstick of success and failure, it is hard for those who fall behind to flourish. As a society we need to redress the inequities in people’s material resources, the degree of control they have over the conditions that affect their lives and the amount of political voice they can express.

Author Sharon Friel

Director, School of Regulation and Global Governance (RegNet) and Professor of Health Equity, ANU, Australian National University

I wholeheartedly agree: Poverty is Sexist.

A letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Thank you for the letter you sent to me on International Women’s Day and for calling on world leaders to recognize the indisputable link between gender inequality and extreme poverty. On behalf of the Government of Canada, I am writing back to let you know that I wholeheartedly agree: Poverty is Sexist.

Women and girls are less likely to get an education, more likely to be impoverished, and face greater risk of disease and poor health. I am grateful to groups like ONE, who work toward ending extreme poverty and gender inequality around the world, while also holding global leaders accountable.

I accept your challenge to lead. As a feminist, I know that women must be treated equally everywhere. That is why, as one of my first actions as Prime Minister, I named a gender balanced Cabinet. It is my hope that this will set an example for governments around the world.

The Government of Canada is taking another important and concrete step: we will host the Global Fund replenishment conference in Montreal in September. We have also raised our contribution by 20% to $785 million CDN.

Investing in the Global Fund – which fights HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis – is critical, particularly for young women, who account for a shocking 74% of all new HIV infections among adolescents in Africa. Canada’s increased investment means more mosquito nets and medicine, and greater access to treatment and therapy, all of which will help the Global Fund meet its ultimate goal of saving an additional eight million lives and averting an additional 300 million new infections by 2019.

This commitment could not come at a more important time. The world has a unique opportunity to make lasting progress. By fast-tracking investments and building global solidarity, we can bring an end to three devastating epidemics – HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis – that have tragic and far-reaching impacts on the most vulnerable people around the world.

Canada’s commitment to the Global Fund is the first step on a path toward a new global policy that prioritizes equal treatment of girls and women. Investing in health will enable girls and women to survive and flourish, including by making key contributions to ending extreme poverty for everyone.

But no one leader can make this happen alone. Canada can play an important role, but we need other leaders around the world to step up, too. And that’s where you come in.

Please continue to use your voice to ask for more from all leaders around the world. Please ask them to come to the Global Fund Replenishment Conference with ambitious goals, investments, and innovations in support of girls and women everywhere.

And please know that your call has been heard and that the Government of Canada is taking action.

Thanks, and see you soon.

Justin Trudeau

Suffragettes Celebrate the Passing of the 19th Amendment: On August 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was finally ratified, granting American women the right to vote. (Photo source: RichardHowe.com)

Industry alert: Anticoagulant therapy and falls resulting in head injuries

The Department of Health wishes to alert all Australian Government subsidised aged care providers to the South Australia Coroner’s inquest findings regarding anticoagulant therapy and falls resulting in minor head injuries.

South Australia Coroner’s Report

The South Australia Coroner’s report makes recommendations for the management of care recipients on anticoagulant therapy who suffer a fall that results in a minor head injury.
The report notes:

• the increased risk of intracranial bleeding associated with anti-coagulation therapy
• care recipients with pre-existing cognitive impairment may have a lot of cerebral shrinkage and this can mean that it is often difficult to detect intracranial bleeding until it is too late.

The report also notes that the aged care home concerned has amended its protocols and now requires any care recipient on anticoagulant therapy to be sent to hospital for assessment following a fall resulting in a minor head injury.

Suggestions for your consideration

All Commonwealth subsidised aged care homes are currently required by legislation (Aged Care Act 1997) to:

• have internal systems and procedures in place to protect the health, safety and well-being of care recipients at all times
• conduct timely and ongoing assessments when care recipients’ needs change
• ensure staff have the appropriate knowledge and skills to perform their roles effectively
• arrange referrals for appropriate health specialists in accordance with care recipients assessed needs and preferences. 

While the South Australia Coroner’s findings are recommendations and not legislated requirements, please:

• read the full report at: www.courts.sa.gov.au/CoronersFindings/Lists/Coroners%20Findings/Attachments/643/FORD%20Marie%20Janet.pdf
• make your key personnel aware of the information in the report and this alert
• take appropriate action