There is an Australia that many people seldom encounter and its citizens number in the millions. These citizens live in all cities and regional towns, often in sub-standard yet costly housing, and struggle to survive week to week on low wages or inadequate government assistance.
Every day St Vincent de Paul members around the country meet with these Australians to hear their stories and discuss how we might offer assistance to get them through the coming week.
It will come as no surprise to learn that their concerns are not the big-ticket items that are getting headlines during this federal election campaign.
While some people might welcome the idea of an upgraded footy oval or an expanded car park, a more important issue is putting food on the table for themselves and their families. Being able to send their kids to school in proper uniforms with a full lunchbox or covering the week's rent and power bills that always rise over winter. The surge in Australia’s annual inflation rate to 5.1 per cent brought more bad news for them.
Each week, St Vincent de Paul Society members make home visits to people — our companions — who have called up seeking assistance. We do what we can to provide some short-term material assistance and friendship; it is always painful to see how hard daily life is for so many of our fellow Aussies.
It is also somewhat humbling to see how these hidden Australians manage to survive on such low incomes without savings or support systems, while often being the first to help their own neighbour in need.
'One can only hope that when the hype and spin of the election campaign is over and our elected representatives take their seats in parliament, they will take a more serious look at the issues faced by those millions of Australians in the greatest need.'
Every circumstance is different, but each visit shows the challenges so many people face. In recent times, I’ve delivered food to a woman in her 40s who couldn’t afford sanitary products. Another whose JobSeeker benefit — paltry, as everyone knows — was stopped after she received an offer of work. An accident before she started her job left her unable to work and without any government assistance.
We’ve visited a pregnant 21-year-old and her partner in rental stress, meaning they're paying at least one-third of their household income to keep a roof over their heads. Her ID card was stolen and her Centrelink