Poll: Melbourne International Students Food Aid during Covid-19

Egilmore on 23/04/2020 - 21:16

A family member wants support to establish a NEW food charity for international students during COVID-19. They have rejected the idea that it may be more effective and efficient to support existing initiatives.

The intent of my question is to research the percentage of international students in Melbourne who are unable to afford meals at this time, and also the accessibility of food aid for those in need.

I am wanting to understand whether existing food aid is reliable and accessible, or whether there is significant unmet need supporting the requirement for new food aid services.

Please respond if you are a student residing in Melbourne and surrounds. Thank you!

Poll Options expired

  • 17
    I'm an int. student. I don't need food aid. I can afford food and meals
  • 0
    I'm an int. student. I need food aid. I AM able to access foodbanks/meals when needed
  • 3
    I'm an int. student. I need food aid. I'm NOT able to access foodbanks/meals on a reliable basis
Food & Grocery

Comments

  • iDoNotExist on 23/04/2020 - 22:18
    +3

    "They have rejected the idea", who is "they" in this instance?

    Anyway going through the expense and effort of setting a charity entity for a narrow and short term mission seems rather wasteful, support the existing causes.

    In fact a lot of charities in my opinion seem to spend too much money on administration and salaries rather than the actual charitable missions they were instituted for, essentially serving as tax minimisation vehicles for the celebrity and the rich.

    Good on you for thinking about others in this tough time though, all the best.

    • Egilmore on 24/04/2020 - 08:59

      They = family member wanting to establish new initiative

  • [Deactivated] on 23/04/2020 - 23:17
    +1

    Breat initiave but this is the wrong place to get feedback. It would be better to contact the students directly via the universties and private colleges in your area.

    • Egilmore on 24/04/2020 - 08:59

      Yes, but in the interests of time and isolation rules this is more practical

    • [Deactivated] on 24/04/2020 - 09:35

      *Great initiative

  • Emerald Owl on 24/04/2020 - 02:20
    +10

    I like that you want to help out the community.

    However, anyone who has the money to travel overseas, pay 40k a year on education alone, plus rent, plus living expenses and has to prove to the Aus government they can support themselves without work really isn't the priority. They can already access 20 thousand dollars in super and money from University bursarys. For all the complaining for Australians' money from this group, they are almost certainly not starving. Why don't you ask your friends to support orphans who can't afford a domestic education, let alone international holidays, etc. Alternatively, helping out at the local soup kitchen is a far more effective use of time.

    • bobbified on 24/04/2020 - 08:47

      . They can already access 20 thousand dollars in super

      How many students have $20k in their super account?

      Why don't you ask your friends to support orphans who can't afford a domestic education

      Basic education is free in Australia and then there's the loan scheme for further higher education.

      Despite what it may seem like, not all international students have rich families in the background supporting them. Some of the families have to make huge sacrifices for their kids to come here and study. Why, you ask? Because education is very high on the list of their priorities. The 20 hours/week they're allowed to work factor into their "ability" to support themselves. Now that a lot of them have lost that income, it can make things quite difficult.

      • MynyMouqe on 24/04/2020 - 09:38
        +4

        International students have to show that they have access to money in order to come over and study in Australia - it's part of the visa. If they've lied about that - they have the option of returning to their home country.

        Maybe the uni's that have made significant $$ from exploiting the international student market can step up for once!

        • RockyRaccoon on 24/04/2020 - 10:02
          +2

          But setting up your own charity gives you access to tax benefits.

        • bobbified on 24/04/2020 - 10:14
          -3

          International students have to show that they have access to money in order to come over and study in Australia

          They do have to show that they can support themselves and most of them are able to do that under normal circumstances.

          Like I said earlier, students are allowed to work 20 hours each week to supplement the funds they already have. However, they're no different to us - when the income from their job suddenly disappears, what's left is a gaping hole in their budget.

          • Emerald Owl on 24/04/2020 - 17:54
            +1

            @bobbified: They have to prove they can support themselves without work. An orphan is obviously going to struggle with living experiences when studying, even if it is on loan. Why don’t international students take out loans then? If education is such a high priority why are they working 20hours a week and not spending that time studying? If education is so important, why didn’t the students study hard enough to attend a top ranking local University? If they were working enough for a gaping big hole in their budget, they should have considerable super?

            I’m guessing your family is from overseas and wants a tax write off. Instead of trying to help people from the motherland, how about help Australians? Existing charities with a low administration cost ratio are their best bet.

            • bobbified on 24/04/2020 - 18:02
              -4

              @Emerald Owl:

              They have to prove they can support themselves without work.

              I believe it's for the first year only.

              If education is such a high priority why are they working 20hours a week and not spending that time studying?

              They're not exactly machines. Do you find it funny that a lot of them can study full time AND work 20 hours each week, yet can achieve better results than a lot of locals who do nothing but "study" and collect youth allowance?

              Are you one of the people who whinge about the international students "taking all the jobs" here?

              • Emerald Owl on 24/04/2020 - 18:11
                +1

                @bobbified: Do you find it funny that fail rates are higher and results are lower for international students?
                Do you find it funny that people spending over 40k a year on ‘education’ want money from people who earn $19k a year in total?
                Do you find it funny that incomes have not risen since the government started the mass immigration program?
                Do you find it funny when an Australian kid cannot get a job here because business want cheap foreign labour and Labor wants the welfare votes?
                Do you find it funny when your family wants to deceive Australians by opening a bogus charity?
                Do you find it funny that you live in Australia but hold contempt for many local students?

                • bobbified on 24/04/2020 - 18:45
                  -1

                  @Emerald Owl:

                  Do you find it funny that fail rates are higher and results are lower for international students?

                  Are the failure rates higher or the same? Have a read.

                  Do you find it funny that people spending over 40k a year on ‘education’ want money from people who earn $19k a year in total?

                  Someone is asking for money from you?

                  Do you find it funny that incomes have not risen since the government started the mass immigration program?

                  So it's migration that you're against? The government has opened up migration because they can't find enough locals with skills to fill the industries that we need here in Australia. Either because the locals don't think the industries are worth their time or they don't want to get out of bed for such a "small salary".

                  Do you find it funny that you live in Australia but hold contempt for many local students?

                  For the record, I don't hold contempt for locals. I hold contempt for anyone who refuses to get off their butt each day to go to work because they think certain jobs are beneath them. If I had to choose between someone like that and someone who is willing to put time and effort into doing something, I'm going to choose the latter every single time. Regardless of whether that person is local or international. I'm not going to give preference just because someone is local!

                  • Emerald Owl on 24/04/2020 - 20:14

                    @bobbified: Your source shows that fail rates are higher amongst internationals.

                    Yes, they are asking for welfare, which is my money. Do you understand how taxes work? Any dollar given to internationals is taken from Australians. Even if it is a bogus charity, that is still coming out of my pocket in the form of tax write offs.

                    No the government has not opened immigration because they can’t find enough locals, that is categorically and systematically false. Just look at something like accounting or it, there are way too many qualified applicants for each position. If a business won’t pay enough for a local to do the job, they should increase the pay. That is how we see salary rises. Instead, they just import cheap foreign labour. Business own the Liberals, and want cheap Labour. Labor is pro-welfare, etc. Immigration is very unpopular in Australia, including amongst immigrants.

                    You fail to understand why standards of living are higher in Australia compared to most of the world. Perhaps it is not fair, but anyone with any sense of compassion or caring for their country would not want to see a foreigner employed instead of a local. There are hundreds of millions of people who live in extreme poverty and would accept slave wages. Do you seriously think that we should open Australia to all of these people and see locals paid $5 a day?

                    You seem to think that there is a shortage of Australians to do certain work. This is simply not the case.

  • whooah1979 on 24/04/2020 - 05:08
    +8

    Water and noodles are cheap here. Give them a $15 kettle from Kmart and set them up for life.

    • [Deactivated] on 24/04/2020 - 08:17
      +2

      Reminds me of my student days. I bought Mi Goreng by the box.

  • RotundPolarBear on 24/04/2020 - 12:06
    +1

    I've recently come across this guy who is providing free food to international students out in the west (Wyndham Vale).

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