Australian Families go without food to pay rent
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Australian Families go without food to pay rent*
July 16, 2007 11:03am
Article from: AAP
A GROWING number of Australians are going without food due to spiralling
rents, mortgages and petrol prices, a peak community group said today.
More than one in 20 Victorian households ran out of food and money on at
least one occasion in the past 12 months, according to figures from The
McCaughey Centre.
Victorian Council of Social Service chief executive Cath Smith said the
finding highlighted a "real and present crisis of poverty".
"Too many families are struggling with inadequate incomes and
skyrocketing costs as rents, house prices and petrol have all been
increasing," Ms Smith said.
"Both state and federal governments need to do more to ensure Australian
children don't go without."
She urged the state government to build more public and community
housing, limit energy and water price rises for low-income families,
provide affordable public transport in all areas, assist
drought-affected families and reverse its planned public housing rent
increase for families.
The McCaughey Centre is supported by the University of Melbourne and the
state government-run VicHealth group.