\u2018By 1990, no Australian child will be living in poverty.\u2019 \u2013 Former Prime Minister Bob Hawke (June 23, 1987)<\/p>\n
It\u2019s now 2026, and Mission Australia recently shared that over 28,000 children in Australia don\u2019t have a safe place to sleep \u2013 most of them are hidden from view, sleeping in cars, on a friend\u2019s couch, or even in a tent. This gut-wrenching statistic accounts for a quarter of our country\u2019s total homelessness \u2026 and it\u2019s growing.<\/p>\n
Where is our Prime Minister?<\/p>\n
Isn\u2019t Labor the supposed champion of the working class? Isn\u2019t Labor the supposed champion for solving poverty? Isn\u2019t Labor the supposed champion of lifting living standards for all?<\/p>\n
Australia, once referred to as the \u2018land of plenty\u2019 in fast descending into the \u2018land of poverty\u2019 for our most vulnerable community members: children.<\/p>\n
While our Labor government is currently more concerned with ensuring ISIS brides receive hotel accommodation and pizzas, 94 per cent of the 28,000 children are experiencing \u2018hidden homelessness\u2019. This means they are not sleeping on the street but instead crashing on couches, living in crammed houses, and\/or taking refuge in cars and tents. Why isn\u2019t the issue of child homelessness front and centre of every politician\u2019s policy and agenda?<\/p>\n
As the cost-of-living crisis continues to wreak havoc on our community, politicians are blind to consequences of failed policy and its far-reaching impact on the lives of children. While one can question and argue, where are the parents of these children, it beggars belief that this statistic is the current reality of Australian kids.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s causing this? According to Mission Australia, the most common factors contributing to child homelessness are families struggling to find affordable housing, rocketing rental prices, and domestic violence. As the stress and pressure of providing food seeps into the lives of many, Foodbank has started a School Breakfast Club to support families who are unable to provide food for their children \u2013 it is as clear as the iceberg bobbing in the water, Australia is headed straight towards systemic collapse as our families buckle under the financial burden to survive \u2026 and, who cares?<\/p>\n
Everyone should have access to safe and affordable housing. That\u2019s the Australian dream, right? The passionate pledge of Bob Hawke, former Prime Minister, appears to be lost on the Albanese government. In 1987, the Hawke government introduced serious reform to tackle the issue of child homelessness, namely in the form of the Family Allowance Supplement (FAS). However, decades on from this, it is obvious Australia\u2019s welfare system is failing and our children\u00a0are being left behind.<\/p>\n
But why the radio silence? Does anyone care? What happened to that great Australian dream of owning a home with a white picket fence with a few kids happily kicking the footy in the backyard?<\/p>\n
For many, that dream has burst. The harsh reality of trying to make a living, trying to pay the bills, trying to put food on the table is biting hard and becoming all too challenging and overwhelming to sustain.<\/p>\n
Urgent attention is required, including providing affordable housing, lowering rental prices, and stopping inflation. Remembering our core democratic principles and values must prevail if we are to remedy this social disaster.<\/p>\n
Since Term 2 commenced, Victoria\u2019s Foodbank\u2019s School Breakfast Club<\/a> program has increased by 13 per cent compared to Term 1 this year. This should be raising the alarm that everyday Aussies are struggling. Everyday Aussies are crying out for help. Everyday Aussies need relief \u2013 now. Let\u2019s take action and do something so that these poor children have a warm, safe place to sleep and food on the table this winter.<\/p>\n