The Torres Strait Islands are like a tropical paradise to outsiders but for many Aboriginal Australians, it has more in common with a failed state as they struggle to survive amid the soaring cost of living.
Indigenous families are being forced to leave their archipelago homes in Queensland’s north because of a lack of affordable housing and “extortionate” food prices that are impacting physical and mental health.
“This region has a high dependence on social security, yet the cost of living is way beyond what you see in mainland urban areas,” Aleita Twist, chief executive of Mura Kosker Sorority social service group, told AAP….