GREATER Dandenong men are among the poorest in the state.
Greater Dandenong council revealed the statistic at this week’s meeting along with other comparative figures that show the city has more unemployment, cases of child abuse and non-English speakers than the rest of Melbourne.
The report states that the median weekly income for males aged between 35 and 44 was just $542 in 2001, the poorest in metropolitan Melbourne.
The city’s unemployment rate stands at 7.1 per cent, a decline according to the report but still higher than the 5.1 per cent across Melbourne.
There were more than 11 cases of child abuse in 2004 per thousand children aged up to 17, the report said.
This is higher than the state average of 6.5 cases.
Across Melbourne 11 per cent of women aged between 15 and 44 have limited English skills but in Greater Dandenong the rate is double that.
In addition, the number of non-immunised children aged between 12 and 15 months was seven per cent higher than the state.
Community services director June Dugina said the figures were likely to improve.
She said council was increasing its child and family support services through an additional $4 million of Federal Government funding it received over the past 12 months.
– Shaun Inguanzo
