| The web of disadvantage |
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| Thursday, 08 March 2007 00:00 |
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Alison Atkinson Phillips After 15 years of economic growth, Australia is thriving. Nonetheless, the Australian Council of Social Services (ACOSS) estimates that 2 million of us are living in poverty. This figure is based on a relative poverty line of 50% of the average disposable income. In effect, it means one in ten people are facing social exclusion; they are missing out on being part of our national prosperity. One of the central ideas about what it means to be Australian is the concept of a "fair go" for all. We tend to imagine we live in a classless society, where hard work means anyone can do well. However, the reality can be far from the myth says Emeritus Professor Tony Vinson, social researcher and author of the "Dropping off the Edge" report, commissioned by Jesuit Social Services and Catholic Social Services Australia. The report, which uses data provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Australian Taxation Office, Centrelink and the Australian Health Insurance Commission, and a broad range of departments from each of the state and territory governments, looks at the distribution of social disadvantage across Australia. What is revealed is a consistent profile which Tony suggests can be read "like an unfolding life story" of the poverty and disadvantage experienced by people who are quite literally trapped by their postcode. It is a life story which begins with faltering participation in early childhood, setting up difficulties for later schooling. "The first manifestation is behavioural problems and the students leaving school at the earliest opportunity," explains Tony, detailing the resultant low work skills, few credentials or qualifications and almost inevitable low income. Another key finding is the link between low education and fragile health, reflected in sickness and disability benefits. The next step is rubbing up against the law, with criminal conviction and imprisonment, which in turn lead to diminished employment opportunities. "These things tend to act like a web to pin people down," Tony says. Although conducted independently, Tony’s research findings support those of a report released late last year by ACOSS. However, where the "Dropping off the Edge" research focused on statistical analysis, the ACOSS report, "Australia Fair," was based on data from a survey in which respondents were asked whether they agreed that "a fair go for all Australians" was an important Australian value. Some 91% of respondents agreed it was. Those interviewed for the ACOSS report were then asked to nominate what they saw as the essential ingredients of a fair society. The top ten list compiled from the survey forms the basis of the Australia Fair website, designed to generate community debate on the subject. In order of most popular, the top ten responses were: fair education, fair health, fair welfare, fair environment, fair work, fair community, fair reconciliation, fair housing, fair services, and fair rights and responsibilities. What is interesting is the correlation between these fairly intuitive responses (the top two are education and health) and the indicators of disadvantage uncovered in the "Dropping off the Edge" study. However, having some idea about what might make life unfair and knowing how to make life fairer are two very different things. "In a long career I’ve often heard it said that we know this or we know that," says Tony. "In this instance, I’ve been following the fate of some of these communities for over 30 years, and if it’s true that we do have a deep understanding, then I can’t see that we’ve done much about it." Tony argues that it’s not enough to simply know things: you need to have concrete evidence from which to develop a workable solution. What the "Dropping off the Edge" research provides, he suggests, is the opportunity to look at disadvantage from multiple perspectives. To understand, for example, that poor education is linked to poor health, and poor parental education is linked to childhood accidents. According to Tony, there are two important messages of hope in the report. One is that early intervention can offer dramatic results. Because of this, some of the key recommendations of the report are about early childhood: improving post-natal outreach services; developing more parenting support programs; and guaranteeing children aged three and four who live within top the 10 percent of disadvantaged localities in each state or territory 18 hours a week of free preschooling. "That would be a great start," says Tony. "And then making sure that able, experienced teachers are available in these areas. I believe departments of educations need to attach great professional merit and achievement in bringing children up from a low level of achievement." He suggests that many children miss out on having teachers who feel they are involved in setting the program for education, which reduces the level of enthusiasm and engagement of all concerned. "What is education if it isn’t open ended? You’ve got to have some excitement, obviously in those that are on the receiving end but also those who are on the giving end," he says. The research has shown that over a short-term period of two to three years real strides can be made, but if the program ends, the crash when everything goes back to how it was before can be devastating. The other big message of hope, and what Tony sees as the really exciting thing to come from the report, is the importance of social cohesion in reducing the impact of disadvantage. The researchers had access to detailed information from the Victorian Department of Communities and were able to build up an awareness of the degree of attachment of people to each other in some 500 postcode areas. Indicators used came from many sources: visits to local events, level of volunteering, feelings of trust and safety in the locality. From these things a social cohesion score was developed, and one of the strongest sets of findings have emerged. The researchers looked at the degree of connection between 24 pairs of indicators of disadvantage, such as unemployment and imprisonment. "Sure enough, when we look at the correlation we find what you’d expect occurs," explains Tony. "But when we examined those correlations through the prism of social cohesion, we find a remarkable, sometime dramatic reduction in the link between two things. It happens with every one of the 24 associations we have looked at. That to me raises an element of optimism." The findings support the results of work overseas in places like the UK, where communities locked into cycles of poverty have been targeted by a program called Sure Start, which offers integrated services for families with young children, such as home visiting and health education. These are often based in a community centre with free crèche facilities, adult education classes and a café, all providing opportunities for local people to interact and develop relationships. Such programs have now been running over an extended period of time, and are starting to show significant reductions in the level of child poverty, including the percentage of UK homes in which no adult works. Building social cohesion may be the key to breaking through the web of poverty found in our most disadvantaged regions. The good news is that, while it is important to mobilise governments to act on the findings of the research, social relationships can be built up by anyone who is ready to make friends with the person next door. Just as the causes of disadvantage are interconnected, so are the solutions. So if projects such as Australia Fair are getting us to talk more about poverty and disadvantage, they might be helping in more ways than one.
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