Anglicare Australia has called on the Federal Government to take action against poverty and increase welfare payments. 

A new report highlights the way inflation unfairly impacts poorer households, showing the costs of essentials rises quicker than inflation.

It also outlines how Centrelink payments do not cover living costs.

The report says, “we call on the Australian Government to help these Australians weather the current crisis without entrenching greater inequality.”

Anglicare Executive Director Kasy Chambers says those earning less are being punished.  

“Our research shows that it costs more to be poor,” she says.

Kasy Chambers

Research by Anglicare Australia explores the ‘poverty premium’, where lower income households are subject to additional costs. 

Associate Professor and Economist Sherry Bawa says cost of living pressures and inflation has further disadvantaged lower income households.

Prof Bawa says lower income households feel the impact of high inflation more than others because they spend a higher portion of their wages on essentials.

“When prices increase, they don’t have a buffer,” she says

She supports the call from Anglicare for the government to raise welfare payments to account for the rise in prices. 

According to Bawa, the inability to afford healthy food leads to long-term consequences regarding physical and mental wellbeing due to a lack of adequate nutrition. 

“There is a vicious cycle of poverty, people need support from the government to break the cycle,” she says. 

Sherry Bawa

Prof Bawa says it’s concerning to see the burden of higher costs fall on those already struggling.

The Community Pantry Belmont founder Carol Messenger has seen first-hand the hardships families face to feed their families. Mrs Messenger founded the charity six years ago before to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The Belmont resident prepares hampers for families in need including meat, fruit, vegetables, and bread donated by Aldi and Bakers Delight. She was inspired to start the charity when she saw Bakers Delight staff throwing 14 bags of produce in the bin at the end of the day. 

In the last 18 months Carol has seen the amount of people in need double. 

“My dream is to run budget cooking classes,” Carol says. 

She believes sustainable acts such as using old vegetables in soups can make produce stretch further. 

Than grandmother says she hears sad stories when meeting families.

She has helped people who haven’t had meat in months. 

“Most families feel so grateful for hampers when they are in need,” she says.