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Beggars a sign of the times, or a sign of the welfare state?

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SirRumpole said:
Yes, I get that you believe in safety nets, but the fact is that Australia is one of the most expensive places in the world to live, and that includes renting.

https://thenewdaily.com.au/money/your-budget/2014/03/05/everything-australia-expensive/
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Yep, but I don’t think that had anything to do with the beggars on George street we are talking about, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the main cause of their issues are either addiction or mental health problems, or both.
 
Value Collector said:
Yep, but I don’t think that had anything to do with the beggars on George street we are talking about, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the main cause of their issues are either addiction or mental health problems, or both.
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Most of the people I'm talking about are sleeping in cars and getting their clothes from Vinnies, but they still can't afford rent with no spending on drugs or booze.

Point is they still rely on charity.
 
SirRumpole said:
Most of the people I'm talking about are sleeping in cars and getting their clothes from Vinnies, but they still can't afford rent with no spending on drugs or booze.

Point is they still rely on charity.
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Well we are talking about different people then.

But these people you speak of,

How much do they have to live off that they can’t afford a place to stay?

I know a few dole bludgers, and they are living in rental properties just fine, with ample money buy pot and Jim beam.
 
Value Collector said:
Well we are talking about different people then.

But these people you speak of,

How much do they have to live off that they can’t afford a place to stay?

I know a few dole bludgers, and they are living in rental properties just fine, with ample money buy pot and Jim beam.
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You could have a look at this if you are interested. It clearly points to high rents and shortage of affordable rental housing for the problem.

https://www.theguardian.com/austral...ess-in-australia-up-14-in-five-years-abs-says
 
SirRumpole said:
You could have a look at this if you are interested. It clearly points to high rents and shortage of affordable rental housing for the problem.

https://www.theguardian.com/austral...ess-in-australia-up-14-in-five-years-abs-says
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Do you have any stats that can run me through the numbers that shows housing is so unaffordable that a rational person free from mental illness and other vices can’t find somewhere to live longterm?

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I am not trying to be an ass, I would genuinely like to know whether the Dole etc are viable to live on.

Because from seeing the life styles of some of my in-law relatives, and various others that I know, it doesn’t seem that much of a struggle to live on the dole, sure it’s not “easy street” but it isn’t poverty either.

Everyone I know that lives on welfare seems to know exactly how to milk the system for everything, which of course leads me to think that those that can’t get along on the dole and other welfare either are wasting the funds, or are not of the mental capacity to be able to apply and get the benefits that are available.
 
Value Collector said:
Do you have any stats that can run me through the numbers that shows housing is so unaffordable that a rational person free from mental illness and other vices can’t find somewhere to live longterm?

————

I am not trying to be an ass, I would genuinely like to know whether the Dole etc are viable to live on.

Because from seeing the life styles of some of my in-law relatives, and various others that I know, it doesn’t seem that much of a struggle to live on the dole, sure it’s not “easy street” but it isn’t poverty either.

Everyone I know that lives on welfare seems to know exactly how to milk the system for everything, which of course leads me to think that those that can’t get along on the dole and other welfare either are wasting the funds, or are not of the mental capacity to be able to apply and get the benefits that are available.
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Average rent in Sydney $530 pw = $1060 per fortnight.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01...prices-drop-according-to-domain-data/10704468

Newstart Allowance , Single with children $596 per fortnight.

https://www.humanservices.gov.au/in...d-australian-apprentices/how-much-you-can-get

So there you go, rent is nearly double the Newstart allowance even without considering the cost of food, transport, power, ICE and booze.

You might be able to get rent assistance, but that is only $130 a fortnight.

https://www.humanservices.gov.au/in...ligibility-payment-rates/how-much-you-can-get
 
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Value Collector said:
Because from seeing the life styles of some of my in-law relatives, and various others that I know, it doesn’t seem that much of a struggle to live on the dole, sure it’s not “easy street” but it isn’t poverty either.
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I'd be interested to know how your relatives n the dole manage. If they are single they could probably share a house or flat, but hard to do with kids as well.
 
SirRumpole said:
Average rent in Sydney $530 pw = $1060 per fortnight.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01...prices-drop-according-to-domain-data/10704468

Newstart Allowance , Single with children $596 per fortnight.

https://www.humanservices.gov.au/in...d-australian-apprentices/how-much-you-can-get

So there you go, rent is nearly double the Newstart allowance even without considering the cost of food, transport, power, ICE and booze.

You might be able to get rent assistance, but that is only $130 a fortnight.

https://www.humanservices.gov.au/in...ligibility-payment-rates/how-much-you-can-get
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Average rent of $530 means that half the dwellings are below that, but also

Here you go Mate nice clean 1 bedroom flat for $200 a week, and as you said they get rental assistance also.

https://m.realestate.com.au/property-unit-nsw-liverpool-426774922
 
SirRumpole said:
I'd be interested to know how your relatives n the dole manage. If they are single they could probably share a house or flat, but hard to do with kids as well.
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They rent a pretty large 6 bedroom house on a hill with a view over the water near Gosford on the central coast, she is on a single mothers pension, with four kids, and her brother rents a room.

The thing that shocks me is they don’t just get dole money, but all sorts of other benefits thought out the year that she applies for and gets, she seems to be an expert at working the system.
 
Value Collector said:
Here is a whole page of units for rent for less than $300 a week, a lot of them are two bedrooms.

So your average rent number of $530, doesn’t in any way indicate how much rent a low income person would have to pay.

https://m.realestate.com.au/rent/property-unit+apartment-with-studio-in-liverpool+-+greater+region,+nsw/list-1?activeSort=price-asc&adcall=1562366853912
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A lot of those are Rooms and Share Houses. One even has a picture of vacant field, nothing else lol.
 
Value Collector said:
There isn’t just one mate, there is heaps, I even own a unit that rents for $200.
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So $200 pw = $400 a fornight (probably the lowest rent you can get) say a single person with 2 kids is getting newstart at $600 per fortnight, leaves $200 a fortnight or $100 a week to live on. As a single person my food bill alone is $120+ a week and I don't have to feed kids, and then there is gas, water, electricity, phone .... Could you live on that ?
 
Dark Knight 2.0 said:
A lot of those are Rooms and Share Houses. One even has a picture of vacant field, nothing else lol.
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No, they are mostly self contained units. But remember we are talking about homeless people, so I don’t think it’s they situation to be a rental snob.
 
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