Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / St Vincent de Paul Society NT CEO Rob Lutter says demand for emergency relief assistance has increased by 30 per cent in recent months, with many new faces reaching out for help

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St Vincent de Paul Society NT CEO Rob Lutter says demand for emergency relief assistance has increased by 30 per cent in recent months, with many new faces reaching out for help · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates yet again,
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: yes yesterday, for the tenth consecutive month, inflicting further pain
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: on household and it looks, well, really like it's going
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: to be tough going for a lot of people right
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: around Australia. I know that nationally. Saint Vincent de Paul
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  Speaker 1: they issued a statement saying that the increase in official
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: interest rates, the tenth in a row, is going to
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  Speaker 1: punish Australia's most vulnerable the hardest and also push them
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: further into disadvantage and despair as that cost of living
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  Speaker 1: crisis deepens. Now joining me on the show is Saint
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  Speaker 1: Vincent de Paul's Society's CEO, Rob Latter. Good morning to.
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  Speaker 2: You, Rob, Hi Katie, how are you?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah? Not too bad, Rob? Yesterday another interstrate rise. It
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  Speaker 1: is making things really difficult for people, not only around
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  Speaker 1: the territory but right around Australia, isn't it.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's right. It's not just people on benefits now
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  Speaker 2: that are getting the impact. It's also people who are
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  Speaker 2: on both incomes. They're getting extensively impacted by this. They
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  Speaker 2: might not own property, they might be in rentals and
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  Speaker 2: rents are going up because obviously mortgages are going up.
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  Speaker 1: Rob what are you saying here in the Northern Territory
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  Speaker 1: in your role with Sintphiny's, I mean, are you in
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  Speaker 1: a situation where you're seeing more people seek your services?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, absolutely, we have had seen a rise of
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  Speaker 2: about thirty percent in the last four or five months
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  Speaker 2: in our emergency relief area, which is where we assist
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  Speaker 2: people with Grow three vouchers. We help with power and
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  Speaker 2: water payment relief in those areas, and we've seen a
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  Speaker 2: large increase in those areas of people just coming in
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  Speaker 2: the door and new people, so not just we used
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  Speaker 2: to see a lot of people who are just on benefit,
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  Speaker 2: but now we're seeing people who are who are working
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  Speaker 2: in retail, who are working in hospitality and services. The
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  Speaker 2: lower income people are now starting to get them impacted
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  Speaker 2: and they can't power, they pay their power bill, you
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  Speaker 2: know that sort of thing. We're seeing those sort of things,
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  Speaker 2: they can't get food on the table.
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  Speaker 1: Honestly, I'm not surprised because you know, as you see
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  Speaker 1: those interest rates rise, it has an impact on a
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  Speaker 1: lot of people who obviously own their own home are
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  Speaker 1: paying their mortgages. But it also has an impact sort
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  Speaker 1: of more further afield on those that are in the
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  Speaker 1: rental you know, the rental market as well. We know
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  Speaker 1: that it's sort of it has a widespread effect.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, you're absolutely right. I mean what we're seeing
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  Speaker 2: is we're seeing people who come in and say, hey,
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  Speaker 2: our landlord has put up our rent by one hundred
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  Speaker 2: arand and fifty dollars a week, and we now have
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  Speaker 2: to find that money. The problem is they can't leave
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  Speaker 2: because there's a housing crisis, so they if they leave,
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  Speaker 2: they will have to find out of the accommodation. And
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  Speaker 2: we all know in the n T there is none.
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  Speaker 2: We have on our books alone at our housing six
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  Speaker 2: hundred people waiting. So you know, it's lots of compounding
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  Speaker 2: issues here, not just the increase, it's just everything.
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  Speaker 1: What kind of impact then, does that have on on
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  Speaker 1: you guys, you know, because you're out there obviously to
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  Speaker 1: service the community, to help people when they need a
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  Speaker 1: hand up. But it must get difficult. It is.
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  Speaker 2: We have every day difficult conversations on the same you know,
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  Speaker 2: we tell people that we don't have any accommodation, we'll
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  Speaker 2: put you on the waiting list. But bear in mind
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  Speaker 2: there are six hundred hundred people who are in front
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  Speaker 2: of you. You know that these are sort of scenarios.
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  Speaker 2: They're saying, well, I can't pay my power bill. They're
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  Speaker 2: ringing out and you know they can't pay the tower
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  Speaker 2: ball they're going to be you know, the tower is
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  Speaker 2: going to be turned off. We get these scenarios. Probably
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  Speaker 2: know these calls about sifting to twenty times a day
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  Speaker 2: just in the office here.
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  Speaker 1: Wow. So Rob, with those six hundred people that are
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  Speaker 1: already on the waiting list for that emergency accommodation, is
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  Speaker 1: that right around the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 2: No, our accommodation is based here in Darwin and also
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  Speaker 2: and Catherine. So we yeah, but I mean that's just us,
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  Speaker 2: you know, I mean everyone else will be in the
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  Speaker 2: same boat. And yeah, it's very difficult out there for
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  Speaker 2: people who are on benefit, who are and lower income,
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  Speaker 2: and it's getting worse.
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  Speaker 1: Rob. Something that we've had raised with us over the
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  Speaker 1: last couple of weeks is that we've had some seniors
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  Speaker 1: get in contact with us after the smart meters have
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  Speaker 1: been swapped over their power meters to smart meters in
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  Speaker 1: their homes and it's had a big increase for them
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  Speaker 1: in terms of paying their power bills. Is that something
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  Speaker 1: that you guys have been contacted about.
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  Speaker 2: Not directly, but we do obviously we have age services
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  Speaker 2: part of what we do, and we're certainly seeing impact
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  Speaker 2: on our aged people who may still have mortgages or
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  Speaker 2: may be renting, and they are very much suffering as well.
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  Speaker 2: So you can imagine your your you know, your your
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  Speaker 2: grandparents who has been forced out of rental because they
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  Speaker 2: just just can't afford to pay rent. You know, these
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  Speaker 2: are scenarios that we've never had to deal with before,
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  Speaker 2: and that's the situation we're looking at now. You know,
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  Speaker 2: it's across the board.
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  Speaker 1: It's really hard right now.
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  Speaker 2: It is you're talking about people who have worked, who
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  Speaker 2: have who have added to society, who are now in
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  Speaker 2: a situation, well they know they cannot afford to pay
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  Speaker 2: the rents if they're renting, and you know, it's terrible,
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  Speaker 2: it's it's honestly, it's the stories we hear every day
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  Speaker 2: are heartbreaking.
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  Speaker 1: They truly are. And you know the scary thing is
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  Speaker 1: is that they don't doesn't seem to be relief in
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: sight as yet. And I do want to point out
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  Speaker 1: to people that obviously Saint Vincent de Paul. You're the
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  Speaker 1: Saint Vincent de Paul Society do a phenomenal job in
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  Speaker 1: terms of helping people when they really do need that support.
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  Speaker 1: So people are able to obviously get in contact with
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  Speaker 1: you guys. But Rob, the scary thing I guess for
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  Speaker 1: a lot of people right now is that the RBA
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  Speaker 1: it's not sort of sounding as though these rate rises
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  Speaker 1: are going to halt in a hurry. And it's also
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  Speaker 1: not sounding as though I mean you may have heard
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  Speaker 1: differently to me, but it's not sort of sounding as
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  Speaker 1: though there's a lot of relief in sight from the
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  Speaker 1: federal government either.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, if there is, it needs to be need space.
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  Speaker 2: So the big issues that we face here in the
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  Speaker 2: NT is that a lot of the funding is population
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  Speaker 2: based and it ends up going down to Victoria, to
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  Speaker 2: New South Wales, to Queensland to all the bigger states
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  Speaker 2: because that's where the money goes. We only get a
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  Speaker 2: small percentage because it's population based, it's not needs based,
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  Speaker 2: And we definitely know in lots of areas you'll see
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  Speaker 2: a rise in domestic violence because you know all these
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  Speaker 2: other compounding issues that happen when when you can't pay
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  Speaker 2: the bills it's not just a simple matter of that.
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  Speaker 2: It affects the whole family, you know, it's a major issue,
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  Speaker 2: affects everything. Yeah, Rob, And we need needs based funding
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  Speaker 2: from federal government.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. Look, I certainly agree with you on that. I
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  Speaker 1: think that we've got to make sure that we're getting
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  Speaker 1: this right and we've got to make sure that we
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  Speaker 1: are supporting people right around Australia, but particularly here in
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  Speaker 1: the territory. I know that some Vincent De Paul Society
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  Speaker 1: have really called yesterday as well on that national on
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  Speaker 1: that national stage, for the federal government to provide some
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  Speaker 1: immediate cost of living relief for Australians in the upcoming
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  Speaker 1: budget as well.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. Absolutely, we need we need that relief and we
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  Speaker 2: need it, need space so that NT gets its share
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  Speaker 2: as well, because at the moment we were highly unlikely
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  Speaker 2: to get anything major, so it needs to be needs based.
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  Speaker 1: Now, Rob, to anybody listening this morning who may be
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  Speaker 1: going through a bit of a tough patch and sort
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  Speaker 1: of might be in need of a bit of help,
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  Speaker 1: where like, where can they go? Well, I know that
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  Speaker 1: there are a number of different organizations that do help people.
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  Speaker 1: What is your best advice for those people? This morning.
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  Speaker 2: So if you're on if you're on benefit, so I'd
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  Speaker 2: suedesce to go straight into Senselink and have a discussion
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  Speaker 2: with them. If you have problems with your power bills.
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  Speaker 2: They can give me on a payment scheme if you're
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  Speaker 2: in a position to do that, So talk to the
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  Speaker 2: power people, talk to Power and Water, have that discussion
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  Speaker 2: and say, look, you know I can't meet those payments
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  Speaker 2: right now. Put me on a payment scheme. You know
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  Speaker 2: what a rent that's another matter. You know a lot
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  Speaker 2: of a lot of people out there that are struggling
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  Speaker 2: with that. So we just just need to have that discussion.
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  Speaker 2: So we're centling with your power people. There's other you
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  Speaker 2: can come to us, you can come to Salvation Army,
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  Speaker 2: there's lots of there's lots of organizations that can help
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  Speaker 2: you in various aspects of what you're dealing with. But
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  Speaker 2: I'd suggest the first thing is to have a discussion
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  Speaker 2: with centralling you beyond benefit, have a discussion with Power
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  Speaker 2: and Water if you're having problems with those bills, because
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  Speaker 2: generally there are things that can be done.
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  Speaker 1: Good advice CEEO of St. Vincent DePaul Society here in
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  Speaker 1: the Northern territory, Rob Lutter, I really appreciate you having
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  Speaker 1: a chat with us. Thank you so much for your
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: time today.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, thank you you too.