Struggle Street

Storyline

3 million Australians live below the poverty line. "Struggle Street" provides a rare opportunity to see what life is really like for Aussies doing it tough, often through no fault of their own. The difference between being homeless and having somewhere safe to live can often be paper-thin. For such a rich country Australia's welfare system is not the most generous. Several of those appearing in this show are from New Zealand who came over after 2001. It was this date that Australia cut off access to welfare for Kiwis living in Australia. When the boot's on the other foot, an Australian moving to New Zealand will qualify for NZ government benefits after six months of residency. There has been no increase in the real value of "the dole" in Australia for over twenty years. When rent takes well over half of your income - and in many cases over 80% - there's very little left for what most of us take for granted - electricity, water, a telephone and internet services. Then you need to buy food, clothes and basics like soap and toilet paper. It's society that pays for the lack of income support. Apart from the obvious petty crime and burglaries where we are very occasionally victims, supporting the homeless is VERY expensive given that they often need medical attention they would never had needed had the support been available in the first place. Then if you have to imprison some of these people it costs an absolute bomb for each day of incarceration. This show is hard to watch, as there - but for the grace of God - go us all. Some tissues may be needed.