Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This week is Anti-Poverty Week, a week to raise awareness about the causes and consequences of poverty and hardship around the world. Here in Australia the proportion of people living in poverty continues to increase. The 2014 ACOSS Poverty in Australia report found that an estimated 2.5 million Australians, including 600,000 children, are living below the internationally accepted poverty line. Single parents and increasingly single women aged over 50 are at higher risk of experiencing poverty. Family violence is one of the most common factors in homelessness amongst women and children. Victims of family violence are three times more likely to receive the minority share of the assets after a broken relationship, putting increased pressure on already stretched front-line support services for women. Despite support services being stretched to their limit, tremendous work continues to occur on the ground, including in my electorate of Newcastle.

Today, I would like to particularly acknowledge and highlight the work of Nova for Women and Children in Newcastle. Nova offer support options for women and children who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness, and they see firsthand the consequences of poverty on our most vulnerable people. As I speak, they are hosting an open day and barbecue in Newcastle to highlight issues of poverty and hardship in the Newcastle community. I thank them for their ongoing advocacy and the work they do to support women and children in need.

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