ALARMING evidence gathered in a report about the most disadvantaged areas across Australia has found “disadvantage is entrenched” in Frankston North.
The Dropping off the Edge 2015 report by advocacy groups Jesuit Social Services and Catholic Social Services Australia listed Frankston North among three percent of postcodes, named “struggle towns”, across Victoria to be the most disadvantaged.
Major factors in disadvantaged areas are unemployment, criminal convictions, disability, low education and child maltreatment, family violence and psychiatric admissions.
Frankston North itself was the fourth most disadvantaged suburb in the state for child maltreatment and schooling readiness. The area was ranked second for psychiatric admissions, fifth for long-term unemployment and eighth for prison admissions compared to other towns across Victoria.
Jesuit Social Services CEO Julie Edwards says the Dropping off the Edge report findings show current policies are not working for the most disadvantaged communities.
The suburb of Frankston, excluding Frankston North, is nowhere near the top of Australia’s most disadvantaged suburbs identified in the report starkly illustrating the “cycle of disadvantage” faced in Frankston North.
“This report identifies where the system is failing individuals and communities, and outlined how residents in these communities aren’t just dealing with one form of disadvantage but multiple and complex barriers to individual wellbeing and community participation,” Ms Edwards said.
The authors of the report have called on the federal government to establish a Centre for Community Strengthening and Program Evaluation “to identify and assist Australian communities with high social needs and concentrated disadvantage”.
Dunkley Liberal MP Bruce Billson said intergenerational hardship is a problem in Frankston North and “innovative new approaches” are needed to break the cycle of poverty and change the lives of people who are confronting disadvantage.
“The chaos in the lives of some needs to be replaced by calm and predictability to help those families and children,” he said.
Mr Billson said this month’s announcement of $4.9 million in federal funding for Anglicare Victoria’s Community for Children plan (‘Children priority for care plan’, The Times 13/7/15) was a step towards trying to ensure children got the care, support and opportunities “that should be available to all in our community”.
The Small Business Minister, a former student at Frankston North’s Monterey Secondary College, said someone’s postcode should not determine their potential.
“It’s important to get a normalised home environment to break the burdens of intergenerational hardship and support people back into work. Children are growing up in some households where employment is not part of their environment.
“Children not being properly cared for is a troubling symptom and consequence of a range of other factors. It could be domestic violence, it may be alcohol misuse and substance abuse or emotional and mental health illness issues that are contributing to the chaos in a young person’s life.”
Frankston Labor state MP Paul Edbrooke said one of the main factors in breaking the cycle of disadvantage is education. He said Labor’s commitment to reversing the TAFE cuts imposed by the former Liberal National Coalition state government is about “ensuring access to high quality education”.
He criticised Abbott government cuts to community grants earlier this year.
“It meant that people in Frankston with a disability, as well as those experiencing homelessness, financial distress and family violence, were placed under even more pressure.
“I am in constant contact with welfare groups and would invite our Liberal Prime Minister to visit Frankston and explain to us exactly how increasing financial pressure on already vulnerable families by shamefully cutting health and education funding is helping us break the cycle of disadvantage,” Mr Edbrooke said.
The member for Frankston says he does not support an increase in the GST because it would hit those on low incomes the hardest.
He agreed the report highlighted endemic social problems in Frankston North.
“Nobody likes these statistics but this is our home,” Mr Edbrooke said.
“We have to do all we can to ensure the Frankston community thrives.”
Frankston North Community Centre coordinator Janet Reid said the council run centre sees “a lot of good things happening” in the area too.
“We’re providing low-cost accessible training and education to help people step into employment,” she said.
“The Frankston North community is fabulous and welcoming and engaging.”
In the Dropping off the Edge report Frankston North ranked in the top 10 per cent of “most disadvantaged” suburbs.
Rosebud West, Hastings and Rosebud were also named as areas also suffering from entrenched disadvantage but were not listed in the top 10 per cent.
