Yeah - that's true. It's really difficult for non fixed address people (tres pc) to apply for and therefore receive government assistance (i mean hello - i'm sure everyone who's had to deal with centrelink realises how much detail you need to give about EVERYTHING otherwise your application isn't processed. I mean, it puts everyday people off applying because if you don't have payslips/group certificates/whatever then you can't really do much about it, let alone someone who has no official record of their existence for x amount of time.)
Also - another problem which compounds this is the fact that some of people who are homeless or destitute suffer from mental illnesses, which mean that they actually really don't know what information to provide about themselves and might not be very cognizant of their past/important details etc. This is not meant to be a statement dicriminating against homeless people - a guy at my uni has worked with them for like 40 years (he is a mature age student) at mission australia, and this is what he told me...
But to stay on topic...
Australia means to me:
Having great opportunities to be exposed to many different cultures and being able to make up my own mind about how I respond to them.
Being able to get some of the best wine in the world dirt cheap.
Having a temperamental climate which matches my temperamental personality.
Having the best of both worlds in a lot of respects (desert +beach, snow+sun, city+outback)
Being home to one of the best cultural senses of humour (closely followed by english humour). I love Australia's dry, deadpan wit.
