Church says investment of resources can turn around poverty problems

from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The social welfare arm of the Catholic Church says the problems of poverty highlighted in two reports released today can be turned around with an investment of resources over a sustained period.

University of New South Wales professor Tony Vinson looked at more than 2,000 postcodes and regions across Australia and found major concentrations of disadvantage.

A national survey conducted by the Australian Council of Social Service found 93,000 Australians do not have the resources to access services they are eligible for.

The head of Catholic Social Services Australia Frank Quinlan says some people are trapped in what he calls 'a web of disadvantage'.

"Those webs of disadvantage are persistent over time, it takes a long time for people to find themselves in those circumstances, and equally we can expect it will take a long time and a concerted effort to bring people out of those circumstances," he said.