The ACT Liberals would establish a commission to examine the issue of poverty in the ACT, saying a strategy was required to deal with its causes and effects as part of the territory's economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Opposition leader Alistair Coe said the view Canberra was a wealthy city and immune from the effects of poverty needed to change.
"This is an issue, of which you have to remain vigilant. To be quite frank, I think it's slipping away at the moment. The cost of housing, in particular, really has created a two-paced society," Mr Coe said.
"There are many Canberrans who can keep up with the cost of living but there is, I think, an increasing number of people who are falling behind."
Mr Coe pointed to ACT Council of Social Service figures, which found there were more than 37,000 people, and nearly 8000 children, living in low-income households before the coronavirus pandemic hit, forcing many Canberrans out of work.
Mr Coe stopped short of suggesting policies to address the causes of poverty in the ACT, saying a full assessment of its impact was required first.
"It's just as likely that every suburb and probably in every street there's going to be somebody, or a family, that's doing it very tough. It's just not as obvious in the ACT. So the first thing we need to do is to really better understand the extent of poverty in Canberra and then look at ways how to address it," he told the Sunday Canberra Times.
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
