SOME parts of the New England North West have been rated among the most disadvantaged in the state, according to a new report.
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The Dropping Off the Edge report ranks Australian postcodes on factors including housing stress, literacy, overall education, long-term unemployment, and psychiatric or prison admissions.
It may not come as a surprise that places such as Tingha, Boggabilla, Werris Creek, Moree and surrounding localities are on the back foot when it comes to factors in disadvantage.
But that’s exactly what has worried the report’s authors: many of the extremely disadvantaged places in this study were also the worst-off in similar previous studies, and little has been done – at least not successfully – to change this in the 15 years since.
For NSW, 621 postcodes have been ranked on 22 indicators of disadvantage – those variables that limit a person’s opportunities to have a long, healthy and fulfilling life.
Some of the unfortunate standouts are the Boggabilla area, which is ranked first for the proportion of Year 3 students who are not at or above national minimum standards for numeracy and reading; and the Tingha postcode, which comes in at number two.
The Deepwater/Emmaville area is ranked second in the state for the proportion of people on the disability support pension, and fourth for the rate of unemployment.
Tingha and Inverell are ranked 20th and 26th respectively for their rates of domestic violence – both in the top 10 per cent for NSW.
Psychiatric admissions in the 2405 postcode around Boomi and Garah are ranked third in the state, while Boggabilla is fifth for its rate of criminal convictions.
“Sadly, the current report drives home the enormous challenge that lies in front of our policy makers and service providers, as many communities identified as disadvantaged in 2007 once again head the list in each state and territory,” the report’s authors write.
“As a society we cannot, and should not, turn away from the challenge of persistent and entrenched locational disadvantage, no matter how difficult it may be to solve the problem.”
Dropping Off the Edge 2015: persistent communal disadvantage in Australia is a report published by Jesuit Social Services and Catholic Social Services Australia.