Poverty among the Indigenous Australians

Poverty among Indigenous Australians

Poverty among the Indigenous Australians continues to be one of the major inequalities facing the nation. In particular, the poverty trends have persisted owing to the inequalities they face when it comes to access to work and income, health and services, education, and housing. It is important to note that that the Indigenous Australians are vulnerable to experiencing these inequalities. The primary reason is because their median income forms 65 percent that of the non-indigenous households. Besides, approximately 47 percent of indigenous youths above 14 years are not in a position to raise $2,000 within 7 days given their family backgrounds and this is compared to 13 percent of the non-Indigenous households (Saunders, 2015). On the other hand, the unemployment rate among the Indigenous households stands at 16.6 percent unlike 5 percent for the non-Indigenous households. However, arguments have been brought forth explaining why aboriginal unemployment should not be the reason for the high poverty rates among the Indigenous people (Tilbury, 2015). They include the presence of incentives to work and the Indigenous people need to grow a working population. Thus, the high poverty rates among Indigenous households are attributable to aboriginal unemployment.

Supporting Arguments

The unemployment rates in Australia have declined over time but aboriginal unemployment continues to persist. For this reason, most of the Indigenous households remain out of work for the most part of the week. Besides, they have a great reliance on the social security earnings which serve as their income. It is important to note that unemployment is concentrated in regions occupied by the Indigenous communities and this has contributed to their lower incomes. On the other hand, low levels of income earned through the social security fund have led to the increase in poverty. An unemployed Indigenous person earns close to $243 in weekly payments as per the Newstart Allowance whereas a young individual receives lower than $194 a week (Martinez & Perales, 2017). The case is the same for the median equalized gross weekly household income for the Indigenous individuals which is estimated at $556 per week which is lower compared to that of non-Indigenous people (Western & Tomaszewski, 2016). Therefore, the low incomes earned following the high aboriginal unemployment have contributed to the current poverty levels in Australia.

Aboriginal Unemployment and Inadequate Access to Basic Needs such as Housing

Aboriginal unemployment in Australia has contributed to the inadequate access to basic needs such as housing. Besides, a small portion of the Indigenous people who live on low incomes manages to buy their own homes (Sharam & Hulse, 2014). On the other hand, rent has become relatively unaffordable in the urban areas for the Indigenous people to live there. It is important to note that there is a correlation between the housing location and the ease of finding work and training. Therefore, cities and regions within Australia where Indigenous people can find jobs charge high rental rates which Indigenous people cannot afford limiting their ability to find employment. The undersupply of appropriate and affordable housing has made rents increase by 40 percent in the last two decades (Marston, 2017). Population continues to increase and this has made public housing, managed indigenous housing, community housing, and government-owned housing in urban centers to be in short supply. The inadequacy of affordable housing has led to higher aboriginal unemployment which has, in turn, led to increased levels of poverty in Australia.

Low Education Levels and Employment Inequalities

Low education levels among the Indigenous people have led to increased aboriginal unemployment in Australia. Moreover, the families with uneducated parents are unable to offer their children better education, and this reduces their chances of employment. It is important to note that the large portion of Indigenous peoples who have not completed high school has led to a lower workforce participation rate compared to those with a bachelor's degree. In particular, in 2009, people with Year 10 qualification earned a weekly income of $907 which was lower compared to $1350 for those with a higher learning degree (Gerrard, 2015). Similarly, there are employment inequalities for graduates among the Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. On the other hand, use their own language and culture, and therefore few individuals choose to pursue higher education. Education plays a significant role in securing employment provided an individual meets the minimum job requirements. Therefore, the low levels of education have seen the Indigenous people in Australia face exclusion from the existing job opportunities.

Effects of Aboriginal Unemployment on Mental and Physical Health

Aboriginal unemployment and the low income received by Indigenous Australians have contributed to more people suffering mental and physical illnesses. The primary reason stems from the fact that these individuals undergo stress owing to the hardships that come along with poverty. Moreover, Indigenous people are at risk of developing health complications associated with poor diet and smoking. It is important to note that an increase in the cost of living has also resulted in the rise in health care costs, and this has made it difficult for Indigenous people to seek medical attention whenever there is a need. Concerning the Indigenous people with physical disabilities, the high poverty levels have made it difficult to purchase equipment aids and receive proper personal care, among others. The socio-economic disadvantages that come along with Aboriginal unemployment expose Indigenous Australians more to long-term health conditions compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. Besides, approximately 45 percent of the people living in deplorable rental spaces report long-term health problems compared to 15 percent of home-owners (Mays, Marston & Tomlinson, 2016). Thus, Aboriginal unemployment has significantly led to increasing poverty levels in Australia, given the little access to health by low-income earners.

Refuting Arguments

The presence of incentives to work is one of the arguments brought forth to explain why Aboriginal unemployment should be low. In particular, the government is encouraging Indigenous people to increase their work participation rate. Through seeking jobs, the Indigenous households will not only become financially independent but also the skills they will acquire will help open up more opportunities in the future. Similarly, the health of people and social well-being improves whenever they have adequate income. The initiatives launched by the Australian government specifically target Indigenous people to enter the job market. For example, there is the Community Development Programme (CDP) that has enabled Indigenous communities to turn welfare into jobs (Western & Tomaszewski, 2016). On the other hand, there is the Vocational Training and Employment Center (VTEC) that has attracted jobs for more than 7,600 job seekers (Deeming, 2016). Therefore, the government has put in place efforts to fill the existing gap, and the progress made by the remote employment programs is an indication that there are incentives to work. Besides, the female Indigenous employment rates are growing with time, which should encourage more people to enter the job market to eradicate the notion that Aboriginal unemployment is the major contributor to poverty levels in Australia.

Necessity for Indigenous Australians to Grow a Working Population

On the other hand, Indigenous Australians need to grow a working population. Most of the expenditure of most households goes into domestic needs as a bigger portion of the Indigenous population is young (Carson & Kerr, 2017). Therefore, the disadvantage on the Indigenous people will come to an end if they adopt socio-economic measures that will see young adults actively engage in income-generating activities. Besides, most of the expenditure by the government assists in supporting Indigenous families that lack employment. However, the increased work participation rate by the youth will reduce the burden on the government. Ultimately, the Indigenous communities will receive similar services as the urban areas, and this will reduce the levels of poverty in Australia. Hence, the decline in the expenditure per individual by the government among the poor will translate to easy access to basic services such as housing, health, and education.

Conclusion

In conclusion, poverty in Australia has been linked to Aboriginal unemployment. The primary reason is because high unemployment rates among the Indigenous people translate to reduced incomes. For this reason, they depend heavily on social security. Secondly, there inadequate access to health and housing as the services are unaffordable to the Indigenous people with relatively lower earnings. Lastly, Aboriginal unemployment is fueled by the low levels of education among the Indigenous people. Therefore, their children tend to undergo a similar cycle whereby they do not proceed to pursue higher education, leading to increased poverty. However, the government has initiated incentives that will see more Indigenous people securing jobs and earning higher incomes. Equally, there is the need for Indigenous people to grow a work population that does not rely on government aid. Hence, Aboriginal unemployment plays a significant role when it comes to unemployment in Australia.

References

Carson, E., & Kerr, L. (2017). Australian social policy and human services. Cambridge University Press.

Deeming, C. (2016). Rethinking social policy and society. Social Policy and Society, 15(2), 159-175.

Gerrard, J. (2015). The limits of learning: Homelessness and educating the employable self. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 36(1), 69-80.

Marston, G. (2017). Constructing the meaning of social exclusion as a policy metaphor. In Social constructionism in housing research (pp. 71-92). Routledge.

Martinez, A., & Perales, F. (2017). The dynamics of multidimensional poverty in contemporary Australia. Social Indicators Research, 130(2), 479-496.

Mays, J., Marston, G., & Tomlinson, J. (Eds.). (2016). Basic income in Australia and New Zealand: perspectives from the neoliberal frontier. Springer.

Saunders, P. (2015). Closing the gap: the growing divide between poverty research and policy in Australia. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 50(1), 13-35.

Sharam, A., & Hulse, K. (2014). Understanding the nexus between poverty and homelessness: relational poverty analysis of families experiencing homelessness in Australia. Housing, Theory and Society, 31(3), 294-309.

Tilbury, C. (2015). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families in Australia: Poverty and child welfare involvement. In Theoretical and Empirical Insights into Child and Family Poverty (pp. 273-284). Springer, Cham.

Western, M., & Tomaszewski, W. (2016). Subjective wellbeing, objective wellbeing, and inequality in Australia. PloS one, 11(10), e0163345.