Disadvantage

At the heart of the Australian ‘fair go’ is the belief that our society provides every individual with the opportunity to make the most of their lives, regardless of their parental or family background.

Kids from welfare-dependent families struggle on almost every education and health measure. Photo by Oliver Lang.

A commendable ethic indeed, but how real is it in practice?

Are we really giving our children the chance to grow up masters of their own destiny, or are we (unintentionally or not) confining them to tread the same footprints as their parents?

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  • MF says:

    02:25pm | 12/10/09

    My parents were on welfare more or less my entire childhood.  I didn’t want to end up like that, so I worked my ass off at school.  A really average public school for that matter.  I now have a PhD and am working at the upper end of scientific research. … Read more »

  • Rosebud says:

    12:14pm | 12/10/09

    Income gap 5 or 7 to 1, working out how a society moves all its citizens forward is key for both developed and developing nations, at their different stages of development.  Surely we have had enough conflicts and wars to teach up that lesson, from the French Revolution to the… Read more »

 

Once upon a time, in a 20th century age of ‘things’, people used to make sense of who they were by what they owned – land, house, car etc.

Barbara Hole and sons at home in Maribyrnong an area ranked by Bureau of Statistics as Australia's most disadvantaged suburb. Pic by Graham Crouch

Today, in the age of communication, people are defined by who they know and what they share.

The phenomenal success of Web 2.0 vehicles such as Facebook and now Twitter (which I was told by a reliable source this week has seen 6,500 per cent growth in users in the last financial year), has demonstrated an astonishing need for people to connect and interact as the basis of their identity and wellbeing.

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  • Chrissy says:

    04:47pm | 28/09/09

    Eric you made your point on Elaines article at the time so let it go. It has nothing to do with this one. Sheesh! Great article Elaine. Everyone deserves a fair go no matter what their circumstances. Read more »

  • Lisa says:

    04:15pm | 26/09/09

    There has always beenthe concept of the more and less deserving poor. Ordinary, sensible people have always made that personal distinction when dissecting the circumstances of those around them in the community. The concepts of hard work and clean living persist as moral lamp-posts still, for reasons that are not… Read more »

 

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the same adage can be applied to women’s equality in society. However, lately it feels like construction has come to a complete halt.

Christina's World, by American artist Andrew Wyeth.

Research released this week by the Australia Institute positioned women as one of the groups hardest hit by the financial crisis in the workplace. While more men had lost full-time jobs than women, women faced worsening underemployment in the form of limited hours and poor pay.

The women hardest hit by this news will be those who can least afford it – struggling lone mothers and women from low-income backgrounds. 

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  • Stay at home Mum says:

    10:12pm | 31/08/09

    I am a stay at home Mum. Many women I mention this to consider me a parasite or a moron, lacking in voice and freedom. My partner works a long week to bring the bacon in. I cook it, clean up after it, teach the children for the first 6… Read more »

  • Steve says:

    01:30pm | 31/08/09

    You women had better watch what you wish for because the more you nag men the sooner we will send you to afghanistan to defend freedom in that country alongside womens rights given to them on a silver platter. Now wouldn’t that be refreshing rather than sending 19 year old… Read more »

 

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