It seems that at least 50% of people living homeless have mental health issues which render them incapable of sharing accommodation with others or being responsible enough to properly manage accommodation or to hold down a job whose income would allow them to rent accommodation. The movement which started in the 1970s (I think) to close down 'mental asylums' and put people from these institutions back into the community seems to have caused a major rise in the number of people living homeless.
So addressing the issue of people living in poverty in a rich country like Australia requires some very complex causal issues to be understood prior to them being resolved.

" … there'll be some people who'll argue that it's their money, and what they do with it is their business". True. And if it puts them into penury, that's also their business, not ours.

socialist/marxist need poverty and homelessness in order to control the people. The breakdown or should I say destruction of the normal family has led to more abuse of women, more homelessness and more need of bureaucrats to fix the problems their sick ideologies have created. What on earth would portfolios like women's affairs and homelessness do if we simply focussed on whever possible children having their natural dads and mums bringing them up. Horror horror that would be sexist blah blah.

Poverty is best described by those who know or have known it. Rather than some self-satisfied and demonstrably indifferent academic, who wouldn't have a clue? I'd imagine he'd be a tad more sympathetic if he were among the impoverished homeless!

That said, take your point, Don, about folk who cry poor but seem to have enough money to splurge on fags/booze. Is anybody at all actually served by poverty, real not imagined! The answer, of course, is no, not the individual, nor the economy! Totally counterproductive every which way!

So, what can be done to actually ameliorate poverty in all its forms and guises? Without putting more economic lead in the saddlebags of the taxpayer!

First cab off of the rank is real tax reform, rolled out as a single, stand-alone, unavoidable flat tax of 15% Because there is no reconciliation required given the tax paid voluntarily, Doubled retrospectively, for a first offence, if a routine audit finds avoidance or cooked books?

Trebled retrospectively, with property seizure, complete forfeiture of all cash and assets if there's a second, and Jail time for the offending directors/tax accountants!

Next, given the massive increase in real revenue this reform would confer, we could fund and facilitate employee-owned co-ops, that produced anything at all, including power or desalinated water!

This last paradigm taken to the nth degree would kill both poverty the union movement and any unproductive element! Quite massively turbocharge the domestic economy by keeping our money in our economy until exhausted, where one dollar does the work of seven or more, as normal economic flow-on factors kick in!

Co-ops and small niche manufacturers are able to use the NBN to access global markets

Co-ops include credit unions, housing co-ops and cottage industries. Could include metals smelting and vehicle manufacture or any energy dependent high tech manufacture.

There are just too many options to list and every one of them can be made to attack and remove poverty via self-help options! All while turbocharging the local economy!

A win-win every which way!
Alan B.

Somewhat before Jesus.

Deuteronomy 15:11
For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.

David

David. The book also says, Cast ye not your pearls before swine.

Afraid that's what you are doing mate. These so-called Christians just don't give a rats? Cause if they actually did there'd be no poverty and considerably fewer billionaires!

Talk's cheap!

And that seems the one thing they have in unusual abundance and all too willing to share along with the usual verbal vomit/hate speech

Just read any of the runner's contributions, I believe, to see that displayed in every word?
Alan B.