AAP General News (Australia)
12-14-1999
Fed: One in five Aussie kids live in poverty: UN =2
The report, based on a 1994 study completed by Bruce Bradbury at the University of
New South Wales, put Australia behind 19 countries including Canada, Ireland, Israel,
Poland and Spain in terms of child poverty.
The industrial nations with the best records were the Czech Republic and Slovakia with
poverty rates of just 1.8 and 2.2 per cent respectively.
Mrs Sullivan said the health of any society was measured by how it treated its young
and its old, and the federal government had made inroads into child poverty since 1994.
"One of the points made is that the best way for a child to escape living in poverty
is to have a parent in paid employment," she said.
"I would think changes in unemployment rates in Australia since 1994 (from around 9.75
per cent to 6.7 per cent last month) would be significant in relation to children."
Cuts to tax and interest rates, as well as improvements in family support benefits,
would also have eased the problem, Mrs Sullivan said.
UNICEF Australia chief executive Gaye Phillips said various studies ranked Australia
between five and 10 in terms of child poverty rates against other advanced nations.
"The point is ... whether we're number five or whether we're number 10, that's an unacceptable
level for a country with the capacity and the resources of Australia," she said.
"The UNICEF would say that wherever one child lives in situations that aren't maximising
its potential, the government can always do more."
But the UNICEF chief said responsibility could not just fall to the federal government alone.
"It's the vision of the whole community," she said.
"It's about individuals locally, state governments, corporates, community organisations
all lifting the profile of children, looking at the impact our policies have on children."
AAP rft/mfh/cjh/br
KEYWORD: UN AUST 2 CANBERRA
1999 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.
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