Child poverty on the Central Coast

New data has revealed that about 14 per cent of children on the Central Coast live in poverty.

Landmark research commissioned by the NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS) puts the economic cost of child poverty in the region at $2.2B a year.

The report, titled Lasting Impacts: The Economic Costs of Child Poverty in NSW, calculated for the first time the impact of failing to invest in our children.

NCOSS chief executive Cara Varian said the total cost of childhood poverty in NSW was $60B, eclipsing the annual contributions to the state’s economy from major sectors such as construction ($52.9B), manufacturing ($42.3B) and mining ($32.5B).

“There are more than 10,600 children in poverty in the Central Coast region,” she said.

“Child poverty hurts us all – it robs children of their future and steals $2.2B from the Central Coast economy every year.

“Children from households living in poverty are three times more likely to also experience poverty in adulthood.

“We are setting up a cycle of disadvantage.

“Poverty during childhood has a lifelong impact.

“These children go on to have poor physical and mental health and earn less at work.

“They are more likely to be unemployed, homeless or land in the legal system as an adult.

“We live in one of the world’s wealthiest nations – poverty is preventable and this research shows the immense economic opportunity available to the NSW Government, if it takes the steps necessary to avoid the long-term consequences of child poverty.”

Varian said the NSW and Australian governments should do a number of things to lift families out of poverty.

She said the base rates of income support payments, particularly JobSeeker and Parenting Payments should be raised to match rates of the Age Pension and indexed to community living standards.

Governments should ensure that a minimum of 10 per cent of all housing is social and affordable housing, further increase Commonwealth Rent Assistance to keep up with private rental rates and ensure homelessness services are resourced to support everyone who needs help.

Varian said governments should commit to joint decision-making to empower First Nations communities in the design and delivery of services, including boosting funding for the Aboriginal Community Controlled sector.

There should be a guarantee that all children have access to at least three days a week of quality and affordable childcare, with removal of the Activity Test on the childcare subsidy.

Varian said governments should invest in high-quality integrated support services for children and families, that helped them early in life.

For the purposes of the report, child poverty is defined as a child up to the age of 17 living in a household with income less than 50 per cent of the median household’s income (including government benefits, and after tax and housing costs), adjusted for household size.

To read the report, go to ncoss.org.au