More than a million Australians in poverty: report

Between 4 and 6 percent of Australians are living in poverty despite the country's 25 years of continuous economic growth, according to new research released on Tuesday.

The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) said 1 to 1.5 million of the country's population were in poverty "with little to no hope of getting out of that situation".

The situation will not be helped with cuts to welfare payments, according to CEDA chief executive Professor Stephen Martin, who said that Australia has a relative low-cost and well-targeted system.

"While their is much media attention on the need to rein in welfare payments such as disability and unemployment benefits, the contribution to welfare payments as a share of GDP in Australia is relatively low compared with other Organization for Economic Co- Operation and Development (OECD) and countries," Martin said in the report.

He said about 42 percent of social benefits reach households in the poorest 20 percent -- double the OECD average.

"What seem to be missing are more targeted early intervention programs that can break the cycle of poverty," he said.

The report used two definitions of poverty. One focused on the access people have to goods and services deemed essential such a decent and secure home and separate bed for each child. Another looked at social exclusion and the ability of people to work, learn and engage with society.

Poverty is a long-term issue, the report said, with about a quarter of people who exit poverty returning within two years. About 12 to 15 percent of disadvantage spells last more than a decade.

Key recommendations included addressing intergenerational educational disadvantage with programs targeted at parents as well as children, making improvements to early intervention programs to minimize hospital for those with mental illnesses, and combating the disproportionate indigenous disadvantage.

The report noted that almost one in five Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged nine years could not meet the minimum national numeracy standard.

In the case of indigenous intervention, the report called for policies to be customizable to local situations, avoiding where possible impinging on a person's independence and autonomy, and for labor market discrimination such as unconscious bias to be addressed.

"There is a lot more work to do to reduce disadvantage and make sure it does not become entrenched," the report concluded. "A nation as rich as Australia has no excuse for not doing better -- we can and should do better." Endi