Australia percentage seeing item as essential and percentage can't afford
Item | Is it essential | Doesn't have, can't afford |
---|---|---|
Medical treatment when needed | 99.7% | 1.0% |
Warm clothes and bedding, if it’s cold | 99.6% | 0.1% |
A substantial meal at least once a day | 99.3% | 0.1% |
Medicines when prescribed by a doctor | 98.9% | 0.5% |
Dental treatment when needed | 97.4% | 4.9% |
A decent and secure home | 96.9% | 0.3% |
When it is cold, able to keep at least one room of the house adequately warm | 95.4% | 0.7% |
A home with doors and windows that are secure | 94.5% | 0.6% |
A yearly dental check-up for each child | 94.4% | 3.3% |
A roof and gutters that do not leak | 86.1% | 2.3% |
A telephone (landline or mobile) | 84.3% | 0.1% |
A hobby or a regular leisure activity for children | 84.1% | 3.4% |
Furniture in reasonable condition | 82.8% | 0.3% |
Children being able to participate in school trips and school events that cost money | 82.2% | 0.9% |
A separate bed for each child | 79.7% | 0.8% |
Getting together with friends or relatives for a drink or meal at least once a month | 79.4% | 2.4% |
At least $500 in savings for an emergency | 79.4% | 11.3% |
A washing machine | 79.1% | 0.3% |
Home contents insurance | 61.7% | 7.7% |
Comprehensive motor vehicle insurance | 59.1% | 4.4% |
New school clothes for school-age children every year | 57.3% | 6.7% |
A motor vehicle | 55.9% | 2.0% |
It is apparent that low income does not always automatically imply that poverty exists, and that a higher income may not guarantee that it does not. The deprivation approach embodies community views about the meaning of poverty that when translated into concrete measures reveal that factors other than income are important in determining whether or not people can achieve an acceptable standard of living, as judged by their peers in the community. This analysis represents a first step in highlighting how different measures of poverty impact on the overall severity of the problem and on the relative positioning of different groups. These differences provide an initial clue to the underlying causal factors and have potentially important policy implications. One important conclusion is that it would be unwise to rely on a single measure like the income poverty rate when the evidence shows so clearly that alternative measures produce different results—at least for some groups. Sensitivity analysis using different poverty lines can improve our understanding but does not address the basic issue that income alone is a limited metric for studying poverty. (‘Mapping the Australian Poverty Profile: A Multidimensional Deprivation Approach’, Peter Saunders and Yuvisthi Naidoo ).
The paper reported on research in Australia into perceptions of necessities and lack of necessities.
In 2010, essential items covered:
- Warm clothes and bedding, if it’s cold
- Medical treatment if needed
- Able to buy medicines prescribed by a doctor
- A substantial meal at least once a day
- Dental treatment if needed
- A decent and secure home
- Children can participate in school activities and outings
- A yearly dental check-up for children
- A hobby or leisure activity for children
- Up-to-date schoolbooks and new school clothes
- A roof and gutters that do not leak
- Secure locks on doors and windows
- Regular social contact with other people
- Furniture in reasonable condition
- Heating in at least one room of the house
- Up to $500 in savings for an emergency
- A separate bed for each child
- A washing machine
- Home contents insurance
- Presents for family or friends at least once a year
- Computer skills
- Comprehensive motor vehicle insurance
- A telephone
- A week’s holiday away from home each year