VCI Founder and Director of Centrecare Inc. Adjunct Professor Tony Pietropiccolo AM, was a keynote speaker at the recent Anti-Poverty Week Symposium held at Government House Western Australia. 

Tony entitled his speech 'When is it okay to leave a child in poverty?' In a wealthy country like Australia, the answer to this question is of course, it's never okay. 

'"There is mounting evidence from a myriad of highly reliable research that demonstrates how poverty can compromise a child’s development and her/his future opportunities. The 2015 Australian Early Development Census showed that children living in poor circumstances were over four times more likely to be developmentally challenged than those living in better socio-economic conditions.

The result of experiences largely created by poverty, can have tragic, long-term outcomes for many children who often face an adult life of poor educational achievement, unemployment, homelessness and other personal problems. For some children, their poverty is a matter of life and death.

Despite the mounting evidence of the extent of poverty in Australia and the significant impact this has on children, the response by successive Australian governments over the last 20 years has been imperceptible.

Since the mid 1990’s, the general position of Australian governments has been to largely ignore the issue of child poverty."

Read Tony's full speech:

When is it okay to leave a child in poverty? Full speech

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