The latest Household Income and Labour Dynamics (HILDA) survey has revealed that Australian families are increasingly vulnerable to higher levels of poverty and inequality.
As detailed by the Hilda Survey, child poverty has worsened in single parent families, child care costs have doubled for many, wage growth has stagnated and home ownership rates have continued to declined.
Federal Member for Blair Shayne Neumann MP said that action urgently needed to be taken to tackle inequality and poverty.
“Child poverty in single-parent families is considered ‘very high’, with rates between twenty and twenty-five percent.
“The median out of pocket costs of childcare have more than doubled for single parents and soared by seventy-four percent for couples since 2003, with low and middle class families in particular being left worse off.
“Worryingly, households are taking home less pay now than they were eight years ago.
“We have also seen a huge drop in the number of people under the age of forty who own their own home, with the Turnbull Government continuing to put wealthy investors ahead of young families.
“These statistics come at a time when wage growth is more than failing to keep up the cost of living and over a million Australians are either unemployed or underemployed.
“These shocking results cannot be ignored.”
Mr Neumann said that Malcolm Turnbull had made it clear he wasn’t up to the task of addressing inequality.
“The data revealed by the survey makes it clear that the Government desperately needs to focus on making life easier for working Australians.
“Unfortunately Malcolm Turnbull has shown absolutely no interest in doing anything to reduce the burden they’re facing.
“At a time when wages are down and families are having to pay more and more, Malcolm Turnbull wants to cut more money out of household budgets by getting rid of penalty rates, refuses to make life easier for Australians trying to buy a house and is cutting over a billion dollars out of Family Tax benefits.
“Either he isn’t interested in taking on these problems or he just does not care.”
