Poverty Concepts
At a national level, poverty comprises three related but distinct forms of systematic deprivation or incapacity.
1 Subsistence poverty is an enforced lack of necessities which a society believes are required to meet people’s physical needs, to live in frugal comfort.
Examples include inadequate diet, sub standard housing or denial of basic health services.
2 Participation or social poverty is an enforced lack of necessities which a society a believes are required to meet people’s needs to participate appropriately in the economy and society.
Examples include an inability to meet regularly with family and friends, to travel to jobs or job interviews, to afford school books and excursions for children or to complete an education.
3. Income poverty is a level of income below which a society considers the risk of poverty yo be unacceptably high.
Examples include the Henderson Poverty Line. Income based poverty lines do not measure poverty directly. Rather they use income as a proxy for deprivation (or the risk of it) based on a benchmark chosen by experts or the society more generally. For example, Henderson chose the basic wage plus child endowment for his poverty line. This reflected the long Australian tradition of arbitrated wage settlements based on the minimum needs of a working family.
For international comparisons, another definition may be needed.
4 Core or international poverty is a level of deprivation considered unacceptable by the international community. In rich countries, this is likely to represent a more severe form of poverty than subsistence or participation poverty. It has both subsistence and participation elements. Examples include a lack of access to safe drinking water and illiteracy.
Extent of poverty in Australia in 2000
|
Poverty Line |
Henderson Poverty Line |
50% of average household income |
50% of median household income |
|
Extent of poverty (not accounting for housing costs) |
|||
|
People in poverty |
4,378,000 |
2,432,000 |
1,628,000 |
|
Children in poverty |
1,037,000 |
743,000 |
479,000 |
|
% of people |
23.4% |
13% |
8.7% |
|
% of children |
20.8% |
14.9% |
9.6% |
|
Extent of poverty (accounting for housing costs) |
|||
|
People in poverty |
3,554,000 |
3,274,000 |
2,526,000 |
|
Children in poverty |
1,316,000 |
1,142,000 |
848,000 |
|
% of people |
19% |
17.5% |
13.5% |
|
% of children |
26.4% |
22.9% |
17% |
Source Harding, Lloyd and Greenwell
The magnitude of disadvantage faced by indigenous Australians is highlighted by many factors including: