Keep Anti-Poverty Network SA Going

Anti-Poverty Network SA (APN SA) is a grassroots organisation run by and for people on low incomes.

We advocate for the dignity, rights, and well-being of people on low incomes, particularly those receiving support from Centrelink.

Anti-Poverty Network SA works to bust common misconceptions about people in poverty. We campaign for changes to policies, services and regulations that are harmful or neglectful of poor people.

We have an advocacy service, run voluntarily by our members, to help people having trouble dealing with their job network providers and Centrelink.

We can't do all of this without your support.

Here's what we need.

We need to cover members' costs from time to time. They volunteer their time, but often they donate their petrol, use their phone credit, and spend bus or train fares to meet with us. Our low-income members can't afford to keep doing that.

We need to fund our current campaign: It's Time for a Raise to Newstart. This is a campaign to gain the support of the Labor Party for a raise to Newstart. The name is based on Gough Whitlam's famous It's Time jingle. This will take a lot of printing and phone calls!

We need to keep our phone line running, and we are hoping to get another one for our advocacy service. Our members currently volunteer their time and their phone credit to make and answer calls.

We need to fund our next events, including the People's Poverty Summit , a public event where we'll discuss how we can fight the attacks on welfare recipients and low-income workers, as well as our usual community events.

We need to fund an office space. For our campaigns, community connections and services to grow, we need an accessible place where people can meet us, as well as a single place to keep what we need.

We've had a lot of wins.

Since this time last year, we've led the fight to get local councils to start publicly supporting a raise to Newstart. City of Port Adelaide Enfield became the first council in Australian history to support a raise to Newstart. 10 more councils in South Australia have since followed. Anti-poverty activists around the nation then gained the support of councils in Fremantle and Victoria. We now have 14 councils and the Australian Local Government Association - representing every council in Australia - publicly supporting a raise to Newstart.

We hold motivating events, often the only ones of their kind run by people on low incomes on a shoestring budget. In October last year, we held our third annual Anti-Poverty Week Conference , the only Anti-Poverty Week conference run by and for people on low incomes. Our State Election Forum in March helped fuel the dialogue about the low rate of Newstart statewide.

We hold unforgettable actions. In October 2017, 40 of us marched from Port Adelaide Lighthouse to Light Square  in Adelaide to commemorate the 1931 Beef March, as well as to demand a raise to Newstart and a fair go for people in poverty and out of work (the same night that we won the support of City of Salisbury).

We run an advocacy service for people having trouble dealing with their job network providers and Centrelink, with training from the AUWU. When someone has been given the wrong information, has their payments unfairly suspended, or are being forced into Work for the Dole when they're not required to do so, we're here to help.

We share our stories , which continue to open minds and inspire us.

We're also a creative bunch! Our members - led by Angela, an AMAZING arranger and conductor, and Eileen, a SUPER musician - worked hard to create and perform a rendition of the Gough Whitlam election jingle, "It's Time". Check out the music video!

Why do we do it?

First of all, Newstart is too low. It's less than $275 per week, and that's about $160 below the poverty line. We fight for a raise to at least the Henderson poverty line.

It's been 24 years since Newstart was last raised in real terms. The cost of living continues to rise while the lowest welfare payments stay the same. It' not enough to live on.

Measures are taken to punish people on welfare, instead of helping them. They're promoted as help, but they're doing little to help people, creating unnecessary administration costs, and - worst of all - dragging people further into poverty. These include the Cashless Welfare Card, demerit point system, and Work for the Dole.

Read more at antipovertynetworksa.org