Inequality is on the rise in Greater Bendigo with new data revealing disparities between ‘the haves’ in the eastern suburbs and ‘the have-nots’ in the west.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A report on “liveability indicators” to be tabled at this week’s City of Greater Bendigo council meeting warns the gap is widening between areas of the city in which people are healthier and more financially stable and those in which unemployment, limited education and poor health are rife.
City strategy manager Trevor Budge said council’s research built on census data to map inequality neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood.
“We’ve now got information at a much more localised level than we’ve ever had before,” Mr Budge said.
“And what it’s showing is that averaging disadvantage indicators across the whole municipality doesn’t tell the full story – because some areas are doing much better than others.
“Heathcote, in particular, has very high levels of housing stress – both for those with mortgages and those renting – so does Epsom and Huntly.”
“We’re seeing that as well in some of the older suburbs like Long Gully, California Gully and Eaglehawk.”
Mr Budge said a “vicious cycle” threatened to entrench inter-generational poverty.
One in five people in Long Gully between 15 and 24 are neither working nor learning, while 18.5 per cent of Heathcote youth are similarly “disengaged”.
“These people are effectively dropping out of the system – they’re not learning and they’re not earning,” Mr Budge said.
Mr Budge said information being compiled by the city on economic, health and educational indicators put it at the “cutting-edge” of efforts to tackle inequality.
“We are not aware of any other council which has this level of detailed mapping, neighborhood-by-neighborhood, of what proportion of people are eating healthily, exercising and are staying in reasonably good physical health,” he said.
Mr Budge said the research revealed a link between neighbourhoods with high rates of poor health and a lack of infrastructure which would promote healthier lifestyles.
“We’re now overlaying that information with things like the amount of open space in a community, footpaths, and playgrounds and what we are finding is that areas that are more prone to, say, obesity are also lacking in those amenities,” he said.
“It does appear that there is a correlation between the two.”
Council will use the information to target future spending on infrastructure, public transport and support in the communities in which it is most needed.