Post by Banjo on Mar 23, 2013 15:35:09 GMT 7
600,000 Australians with disability in poverty
More than 600,000 Australians with a disability are living below the poverty line according to new figures from peak welfare group, Australian Council of Social Service.
The figures, released on Friday, show that more than a quarter of people with disability are surviving on less than $600 a week, which is half the median household income.
ACOSS chief executive Cassandra Goldie said while the national disability insurance scheme, to be introduced between 2014-18, would make a difference, many people need support now.
“This figure should be cause for great concern - it shows that 27.4 per cent of people with disability are currently living below the poverty line of 50 per cent of median household income,” Dr Goldie said.
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“This means that people with disability... are more than twice as likely to be in poverty than other people in our country. It's simply not good enough. We can and must do better."
The figures are an addition to ACOSS's Poverty in Australia report, released in October, which showed that 12.8 per cent of the general population was living in poverty, including 17.3 per cent of children.
The NDIS - renamed DisabilityCare - cleared its final parliamentary hurdle on Thursday after receiving bipartisan support.
When the scheme is fully operational, it is expected to cost more than $15 billion a year and cover some 410,000 Australians with disabilities.
Dr Goldie said that people with disability lacked job opportunities, with only 45 per cent employed.
"It is high time that we considered introduction of targets and quotas, to provide the incentives necessary to ensure equality of employment opportunities," she said.
"The great productivity debate in Australia needs to have at its core how we ensure that people with diverse capabilities and backgrounds are fully enabled to participate in our workplaces, now and into the future."
About 824,000 people with disability receive Disability Support Pension and more than 100,000 receive Newstart Allowance, which Dr Goldie described as grossly inadequate.
“People on this payment have to make do on just $35 a day which clearly isn't enough for anyone to live on, especially if you have added difficulties and costs associated with disability," she said.
www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/600000-australians-with-disability-in-poverty-20130322-2gk81.html
More than 600,000 Australians with a disability are living below the poverty line according to new figures from peak welfare group, Australian Council of Social Service.
The figures, released on Friday, show that more than a quarter of people with disability are surviving on less than $600 a week, which is half the median household income.
ACOSS chief executive Cassandra Goldie said while the national disability insurance scheme, to be introduced between 2014-18, would make a difference, many people need support now.
“This figure should be cause for great concern - it shows that 27.4 per cent of people with disability are currently living below the poverty line of 50 per cent of median household income,” Dr Goldie said.
Advertisement
“This means that people with disability... are more than twice as likely to be in poverty than other people in our country. It's simply not good enough. We can and must do better."
The figures are an addition to ACOSS's Poverty in Australia report, released in October, which showed that 12.8 per cent of the general population was living in poverty, including 17.3 per cent of children.
The NDIS - renamed DisabilityCare - cleared its final parliamentary hurdle on Thursday after receiving bipartisan support.
When the scheme is fully operational, it is expected to cost more than $15 billion a year and cover some 410,000 Australians with disabilities.
Dr Goldie said that people with disability lacked job opportunities, with only 45 per cent employed.
"It is high time that we considered introduction of targets and quotas, to provide the incentives necessary to ensure equality of employment opportunities," she said.
"The great productivity debate in Australia needs to have at its core how we ensure that people with diverse capabilities and backgrounds are fully enabled to participate in our workplaces, now and into the future."
About 824,000 people with disability receive Disability Support Pension and more than 100,000 receive Newstart Allowance, which Dr Goldie described as grossly inadequate.
“People on this payment have to make do on just $35 a day which clearly isn't enough for anyone to live on, especially if you have added difficulties and costs associated with disability," she said.
www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/600000-australians-with-disability-in-poverty-20130322-2gk81.html
