Hardship measures more urgent now

Increasing economic hardships for South Australians impacted by COVID-19 outcomes are of mounting concern to experts warning that the gulf between people with and without secure income is widening – and subsequently increasing inequities in health outcomes for more South Australians.

In the wake of alerts that vulnerable households face increased power bills in coming months, problematic income issues are identified in detail in the telling new report SA: The Heaps Unfair StateWhy Have Health Inequities Increased In South Australia And How Can This Trend Be Reversed?

Prepared by the Southgate Institute for Health, Society and Equity at Flinders University and the South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS), the report identifies social and economic problems that are leading to growing health inequities in South Australia – with an entire chapter devoted to profiling the plight of people already struggling with limited incomes.

The chapter – A toxic mix: Deindustrialisation, structural changes to employment opportunities, and unequal incomes – outlines the vulnerability of growing numbers of South Australians due to increasing economic hardships, unemployment and decreasing incomes.

It serves to highlight significant increases in inequities in SA since the 1980s, and signals that a holistic approach, addressing the social determinants of health, is necessary if the existing problems are going to be effectively changed.

This and other alarming insights have triggered the report’s raft of almost 40 recommendations to redress the current situation in SA, stretching across the fiscal, education, energy, health, public service, social security, housing, digital, employment, NGO, rural and regional sectors.

Key recommendations on Energy Sector reform are:

  • Ensure state and federal government energy policies prioritise low income households, tenants and other people in vulnerable circumstances.
  • Government and other agencies set strong targets on renewable energy and focus on climate change, mobility including public transport options, vehicle use, and the agriculture industry.
  • Implement state and local building code regulations that apply to new and existing houses to improve housing stock with retrofits such as insulation and double glazing to reduce electricity costs and ensure comfort in winter and summer.

“The Heaps Unfair report shows that a state which has previously done comparatively well in reducing inequities can quickly slide backwards,” says Southgate Institute director, Flinders University Professor Fran Baum.

“An escalating divide shows an increasing number of South Australians experiencing economic and social exclusion,” she says. “If you’re poor economically, you are at an increased risk of poor health outcomes.”

The report’s authors, including academics and leaders from the social service sector, say the rise is best captured in premature mortality rates that differ according to socioeconomic status.

“Our work has identified that much more store is put on economic growth and much less on developing community solidarity and on achieving social justice as a policy goal in South Australia,” says Professor Baum.

The recommendations to redress this state’s health inequities, as outlined in the report, require swift action – particularly in such daunting times.

“Our recommendations are made in the hope that they will inform a determination to make South Australia ‘heaps’ more equal, and the recommendations are even more pressing in light of the COVID-19 crisis,” says Professor Baum.

Find the summary, full and statistical reports at the Southgate site, a video summary from experts, and more at the Croakey website

The full report and its summary – can be downloaded from the Southgate Institute webpage.

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College of Medicine and Public Health