In some cases they are employed by foreign business owners who should be ashamed of themselves for exploiting those workers. One example being a lady doing cleaning for 5 hours a day, 5 days a week was only paid $30 for the whole fortnight.

Obviously a fair increase in wages needs to be reviewed and enforced by the appropriate government authorities. It saddened me to know people/families are suffering to provide basic necessities many of us take for granted, such as food, shelter, clothing, clean water, sanitation, health care, utilities and education costs.

Of all the lovely people I did meet in Vanuatu, they still managed to smile, appear happy and got on with life without complaining, regardless of their circumstances, which was refreshing and admirable. Many people from other countries could learn from those people and realize how fortunate they are in their own lives.

This is the 21st century and no person in the world should have to be worried about such issues, but sadly this does occur because of greed and corruption, at many levels of authority, in far too many countries.

In Australia we pay some of the highest taxes in the world which includes our wages and also GST (goods and services tax, a broad based tax of a flat rate of 10% that is added to almost everything we buy, use or consume).

Although many people complain about paying taxes, I personally agree with our tax system because we are fortunate to benefit from many things the taxes provide, such as, good health care systems, excellent schools/universities, good infrastructure, affordable housing schemes and the list goes on. We have 'Centrelink' (unlike some countries), which provides people and families with financial payments to assist when they are unemployed or unable to work due to health issues or disabilities, job skills training, old age pensions, assistance to sole parents and people with children, child care rebates and many other benefits.

The downside to some of these benefits is that in a small percentage of the population it creates a sense of entitlement and therefore some people wrought the system and lack motivation to actively seek job opportunities. This can result in a lack of self worth or purpose, depression and people get into a rut, which can be a vicious cycle of dependence on the very system that helps them and which carries through to future generations.

In saying all of the above comments, in Australia we do have some homeless people who are struggling for various reasons. It is a reality in Australia and that includes our indigenous people.

We can only hope that life improves for the better of the world, as it is currently unbalanced in regard to poverty and homelessness. Then hopefully we can all live in peace, be happy, healthy, content and have fulfilling lives, without wars and with equality for all people, regardless of race, religion or gender for now and for future generations.