Latest news with #AnglicareWA
West Australian
26-06-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Single parents on minimum wage left with just $1 for energy bills after paying for expenses
A single parent on minimum wage with one child will have just a single dollar left a week after paying for essential expenses, a report by Anglicare Australia has revealed. Anglicare's Cost of Living Index paper examined minimum wage workers and their take home pay after paying for necessities like rent, food, transport and education. For a single parent with one child, only $1 is left after paying more than $1000 each week for necessities. The figure includes Government supplements but does not include the cost of utilities. The report estimates a couple who both on minimum wage with two children would have just $5 left over per week. Even for a single minimum wage worker without children, only $33 remains each week after covering core living costs. Anglicare WA chief executive officer Philippa Boldy said the situation for people on the minimum was 'shocking'. 'Looking at the data, it's a stark reminder that many people in our communities have income so much less than the funds that they need to get by,' she said. 'With the way things are at the moment, week on week, people are falling further and further behind. 'I think everybody knows someone in our society who's been impacted by the housing crisis, and almost everyone in our community knows someone who's really feeling the pinch. 'But when you step back and consider what life looks like for all of those in our community living on minimum wage, it's really shocking.' According to Anglicare WA, just 14 properties were available and affordable for a single minimum age worker in Western Australia. Ms Boldy said long-term reform was needed. 'The most effective thing that we can do for people who are living at or below the minimum wage level or on the poverty line is to increase the income they're attempting to get by on, or to significantly reduce their costs,' she said. 'Our State and Federal Governments are investing in a wide range of temporary financial-support initiatives which essentially just temporarily prop people up; this is a sign that we know we've got a major problem on our hands. 'We are using temporary solutions to attempt to fix what's very much a long-term problem.'
The Age
25-06-2025
- The Age
‘People are suffocating': Property manager's harrowing text lays bare WA's housing crisis
A Perth property manager says both tenants and landlords were struggling under growing cost-of-living pressures, with the latest WA budget failing to provide a solution to the state's housing crisis. For Louisianna Giumelli, the crisis came to a head when she was heading to court to carry out a tenant eviction. Giumelli said the tenant was a 'lovely, mature-aged subcontractor' who had fallen into financial crisis and had been unable to pay his rent for more than a year. The real estate agency she owns, Choice Property Group, had tried to get him help through Anglicare WA and the tenant had also reached out to Centrelink with no luck. He then stopped replying altogether. As she was driving to court to get the matter resolved, Giumelli received a text message read aloud through Apple CarPlay. 'I'm sorry but I can't attend court today, I can't cope with it, I'm also ending my life today goodbye.' In shock, Giumelli pulled over and called triple zero. Later she received another message from the tenant: 'I'm sorry, I'm on my way to the hospital ... police and ambulance arrived just in time, I'm truly sorry for all the trouble I've caused.' The incident pushed her to speak out on the crisis and call for more support for those in the real estate industry who were also dealing with heartbreaking situations more frequently.
Sydney Morning Herald
25-06-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘People are suffocating': Property manager's harrowing text lays bare WA's housing crisis
A Perth property manager says both tenants and landlords were struggling under growing cost-of-living pressures, with the latest WA budget failing to provide a solution to the state's housing crisis. For Louisianna Giumelli, the crisis came to a head when she was heading to court to carry out a tenant eviction. Giumelli said the tenant was a 'lovely, mature-aged subcontractor' who had fallen into financial crisis and had been unable to pay his rent for more than a year. The real estate agency she owns, Choice Property Group, had tried to get him help through Anglicare WA and the tenant had also reached out to Centrelink with no luck. He then stopped replying altogether. As she was driving to court to get the matter resolved, Giumelli received a text message read aloud through Apple CarPlay. 'I'm sorry but I can't attend court today, I can't cope with it, I'm also ending my life today goodbye.' In shock, Giumelli pulled over and called triple zero. Later she received another message from the tenant: 'I'm sorry, I'm on my way to the hospital ... police and ambulance arrived just in time, I'm truly sorry for all the trouble I've caused.' The incident pushed her to speak out on the crisis and call for more support for those in the real estate industry who were also dealing with heartbreaking situations more frequently.
West Australian
06-06-2025
- General
- West Australian
Long-promised Broome One Stop Domestic Violence Hub officially opens
The hub, named Bibimbiya Jan-ga Buru, meaning women and children's healing place in Yawuru language, is located at 19 Barker Street and provides a one stop entry point for a range of specialist supports for people experiencing family and domestic violence, including advocacy, counselling, legal assistance, and support for children. Service delivery is led by Men's Outreach Service Aboriginal Corporation, operating as Family Outreach Service, in partnership with Anglicare WA and service alliance members Nirrumbuk Aboriginal Corporation, Jalygurr Guwan Aboriginal Corporation, Broome CIRCLE and Legal Aid WA. The $23 million project also provides family and domestic violence outreach services to Derby and Bidyadanga. Ms Stojkovski said domestic violence has a devastating impact on families and breaking the cycle requires targeted services in primary prevention and early intervention like which is offered at the hub. 'The securing of a suitable property to house the Broome Family and Domestic Violence One Stop Hub is a significant milestone and will ensure victim-survivors can access a range of supports and get the assistance that's right for them, including cultural support and healing services, all from the single location,' she said. 'By co-locating key support with other community services, a 'soft' entry point is created, reducing stigma attached to seeking assistance.' It comes as the Kimberley continues to record the highest rates of domestic violence in the State, with 11,912 offences per 100,000 people in 2023-24, more than 15 times the Perth metropolitan area rate of 756 per 100,000 people. Despite this, the Broome location is some 18-months behind its originally announced opening date of late 2023 and was the last DV hub to start delivering interim services in November 2024. It is the third hub to open its dedicated facility in WA behind Kalgoorlie and Mirrabooka, which were officially launched in December 2020 and Perth in October 2024 after being announced in April 2024. An Armadale hub, announced at the same time as the Broome hub in 2022, started delivering interim services in September 2023 and is expected to transfer into full service delivery in 2025. Ms Stojkovski said the delay in finding a location for the Broome Hub was due to logistical challenges and the need to find a culturally appropriate site. 'It was logistics more than anything else, it took a long time to find a culturally appropriate place,' she said. Asked whether there was potential for another hub in Derby near where a woman was allegedly murdered by a man known to her in April, Ms Stojkovski said a lack of funding remained a barrier. 'If there was no restriction on money, we would have a hub everywhere but that's not feasible in a State such as WA,' she said. MOSAC chief executive Peter Mitchell said it had been a balancing act between finding an appropriate location and delivering the service in a timely manner. 'Going back to the whole issue of delay . . . we needed to get this right and not offer a half-baked option,' he said. 'The balance has been to make sure that we've got all the correct staff and all the resources we need before pushing it out to the general public while also recognising there are women still being harmed and you can't just close the door. So it's been a balancing act.' He also recognised funding was an issue, but said more services were needed to tackle domestic violence in remote areas. 'Let's acknowledge that there aren't enough services. The community would like more services, particularly outside of the Broome,' Mr Mitchell said. 'This is a great facility and we do have outreach services in Derby and Bidyadanga, but there's so many other places that also require that.' Acknowledging the delay, Kimberley MLA Divina D'Anna said there was no one solution in tackling domestic violence. 'I do understand that it is a long time coming, and I'd also like to put on record that this is not the silver bullet,' she said. 'There are services in Broome and in outreach . . . in Kununurra and Derby. So there are services. Everyone's playing their part to try and get ahead of this.' It comes as a landmark study into men and domestic violence from the Australian Institute of Family Studies was released on June 3. The study found 35 per cent of men aged 18-65 years have used intimate partner violence in their lifetime, with an estimated 120,000 men nationally each year starting to use it for the first time. It also found men who reported high levels of social support 'all of the time' were 26 per cent less likely to report using intimate partner violence. Federal Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said early intervention was key to preventing domestic violence. 'We want to stop intimate partner violence before it starts. To do so, we need to do more than respond to it, we need to understand it,' she said. 'That's why this data from Ten to Men is so important. By providing an understanding of what may lead to men using violence, the study gives us a better chance of identifying those at risk of offending and intervening to ensure the healthy development of young men and boys.'
West Australian
05-06-2025
- Business
- West Australian
New wardrobe service opens in Karratha for locals doing it tough
A permanent wardrobe service has launched in Karratha, providing free new clothing to people experiencing hardship. Through Anglicare WA's Thread Together initiative, the service allows people to choose clothes that suit their needs and personal style, helping restore a sense of dignity and confidence during challenging times. The initiative is part of a broader rollout across the North West, with mobile wardrobes due to launch in Port Hedland, Broome, and Kununurra. Funded by a $20,000 Horizon Power Community Partnership grant, the program has also received support from Horizon Power volunteers, who assisted with transport and assembly of the wardrobe. Anglicare WA chief executive Mark Glasson said while the service had been growing in demand and delivery in Perth, the partnership would allow it to expand into the Pilbara and Kimberley, supporting more West Australians doing it tough. 'More people than ever before are going without suitable clothes, prescription medicines and other essential items, as they have no income left after paying for accommodation, bills and food,' he said. 'An increasing number of women and children have also needed the support of services like Thread Together to start over after escaping family and domestic violence. 'The housing crisis and cost-of-living continues to affect people right across the State, but we know these issues are exacerbated in WA's regions, particularly in the Pilbara and Kimberley. 'People in need deserve the dignity and choice of new clothing, without judgment.' Referrals for the program can be made through a range of local community and social services, including Anglicare WA and headspace.
