Guardian Australia is telling the stories of the people neither party wants to discuss this election
In the 2019 election campaign, there is a group of Australians whose desperate situation neither major party wants to discuss in detail. They are the 10% of Australians still being left behind in poverty.
With its Fair Go? series, Guardian Australia has prioritised the voices of those Australians, told their stories, examined the policies that govern their lives and asked the questions that they want answered.
As editor Lenore Taylor wrote when she launched the series, Guardian Australia believes this discussion is too important to be sidelined.
Our full coverage in the Fair Go? series:
Left behind: the Australians neither political party wants to discuss: Lenore Taylor writes “the pressing moral issue of poverty sits outside the major parties’ carefully tested election messages”.
Australian poverty in graphs: it’s a desperate state of affairs: Greg Jericho writes that inequality data may suggest an improvement but the reality is life is still brutally hard for those in the bottom 10%.
If you read Life on the breadline, you got to know the humans behind the headlines: Lucy Clark writes about what we learned from hearing first person voices of people living below the breadline.
The meaning of Morrison’s mantra about getting a fair go is clear. It’s conditional: Katharine Murphy skewers prime minister Scott Morrison’s mantra about getting a go if you have a go.
Inequality in Australia: an interactive map of disadvantage: Nick Evershed’s data map shows where disadvantage is concentrated in Australia.
‘It’s soul destroying’: the stress and stigma of being a single parent on welfare: Luke Henriques-Gomes writes how single parents are three times more likely to live below the poverty line and that the deterioration in circumstances is traced back to the Howard years.
Emily Lightfoot - Fair Go? - video: David Fanner films single mother Emily Lightfoot talking about her slide into poverty.
Stuck on Newstart: ‘I don’t understand why more people aren’t angry’: Royce Kurmelovs writes about the Australians struggling to survive on Newstart.
Fair Go? Nijole Naujokas talks about life on Newstart – video: David Fanner films Nijole Naujokas talking about the stigma of being on Newstart.
Living on the disability pension: ‘It’s like the slow dimming of the light’: Royce Kurmelovs writes about the difficulties of being on the disability support pension.
Amethyst DeWilde - Fair Go? – video: David Fanner films Amethyst DeWilde talking about how the welfare system diminishes all Australians.
Poverty and ageing: ‘we’re swept under the carpet and pushed aside’: Susan Chenery looks at the particular issues faced by older Australians living in poverty.
Fair Go? Susan Mathewson on living ‘two seconds from the street’ – video: David Fanner films Susan Mathewson talking about entering poverty in middle age.
For Indigenous Australians, the concept of a ‘fair go’ is meaningless: Lorena Allam writes about Indigenous Australians being at the bottom of all poverty metrics.
Fair go? Gavin Ritchie on living on ‘next to nothing’ – video: David Fanner films Indigenous man Gavin Ritchie talking about accessing his support pension.
Bill Shorten: ‘Poverty wastes people, it wastes opportunity’: Katharine Murphy interviews Bill Shorten about what drives his passion for equality
Of course rich people think inequality doesn’t matter. They don’t see it: David Hetherington writes how the ‘gated community’ effect means the more inequality grows, the easier it is for the rich not to notice.
Punished by the lucrative welfare-to-work industry: ‘I was contemplating suicide’: Luke Henriques-Gomes investigates the privatised system leaving jobseekers behind.
Most poor people in the world are women. Australia is no exception: Emma Dawson writes about the gendered nature of poverty.
Ask a policy expert: why is it so hard to get on the disability support pension?: Nijole Naujokas worked with the Sydney Policy Lab to get an answer to a question she had.
Child Support: ‘When we interview women they cry and cry and cry’: Jenny Valentish dives into the policy around the vexed issue of child support.
Ask a policy expert: How much do we pay for our politicians?: Amethyst DeWilde worked with the Sydney Policy Lab to find out how politicians are disconnected from their constituents, financially speaking.
Students going without the basics: ‘I was heartbroken when I missed school’: Jo Tovey looks at how inequality in the education system and in education policy further entrenches disadvantage.
Australia should learn from Brexit Britain, not copy its mean-spirited welfare policies: Kate Lyons lived in Britain and saw first hand brutal welfare policies that Australia should take as a warning, not a guide.
Inequality and climate change: the perfect storm threatening the health of Australia’s poorest: Health writer Melissa Sweet writes that health inequalities are being compounded by the climate emergency and that health policies must reflect that.
Living on Newstart: ‘I don’t eat every day. That saves some money I guess’: Gay Alcorn interviews people struggling on Newstart and looks into how raising it would be an immediate fix for many living in poverty.
Misogyny, violence, racism, classism: the toxic forces behind our shameful poverty rates: The head of Acoss Cassandra Goldie writes a searing over-arching piece about the shadows at play behind the unacceptable rates of poverty in a wealthy country like Australia.
Ask a policy expert: does Centrelink support single mothers exiting violent relationships?: Emily Lightfoot from Albury worked with the Sydney Policy Lab at Sydney University to find the answer to a burning question.
Ask a policy expert: why is job training so difficult to access and not fit-for-purpose?: Melbourne woman Susan Mathewson worked with the Sydney Policy Lab at Sydney University to find the answer to her burning question.