Hundreds of people are queuing for hours to get free food parcels

Barnaby Joyce has slammed the Labor government for being out of touch, after Aussies have vented their fury after it was revealed families are inundating food banks for help.

Barnaby Joyce has slammed the Labor government for being out of touch with Australians, after it was revealed families are inundating food banks for help because they can’t afford to put food on the table.

“Life’s incredibly tough,” Joyce told Sunrise on Monday morning while discussing rising cost of living pressures.

“The truth is people are lined up outside food banks, but what’s really stuck in their mind is they can’t afford their groceries, they can’t afford their power bill, they can’t afford fuel”, he said.

After News Corp published photos of Australians lining up at food banks, online readers were shocked, stating the Albanese government needed to see these reports.

“Was this part of your plan people struggling to feed their families,” one reader wrote.

While another wrote: “Where is our PM. Nowhere to be seen. How can a government be so out of touch with the needs of the people when it is so blatantly obvious??”

Others called for charities to be given “the funds they desperately need”, while many others shared the opinion that Australia used to be the “best place to live”, but now with people feeling the extreme financial strain, the common sentiment shared was “what’s happened to this wonderful country”.

These are the pictures that show the pain being inflicted by the cost of living pressures.

Desperate people are queuing 30-deep patiently waiting outside already stretched charities for food parcels because they can’t afford to eat or feed their families after their bills are paid.

Charity groups thought the need for help would end when the lockdowns and pandemic were over – instead it has only increased.

Australian of the Year Local Hero Amar Singh founded Turbans 4 Australia to provide emergency food to people. He said he other charity groups have been taken aback by those lining up for help.

“We have a large cross section of society, we have young couples come in with quite good looking cars, but when you speak to them [they tell you] they are working but can’t afford to make ends meet,” Mr Singh said.

People queue to receive food parcels in Clyde, Sydney. Supplied

People wait in line sometimes for hours to get the food parcels. Supplied

“They use that money [they save from buying food] to pay for their rent. We have a lot of elderly people coming in, some with medical issues … It’s a large cohort of people that shows this is a problem right across society.”

Salvation Army spokesman Andrew Hill said Australians who had never experienced financial hardship were now in trouble.

“People are presenting to Salvation Army services that have never done so before in terms of crisis, so it’s a very real thing,” Mr Hill said.

Many of them were embarrassed at the situation they found themselves in, which they shouldn’t be, he said.

“We’ve just seen a month on month 38 per cent increase for our services, from our financial counselling services and crisis assistance.”

.Turbans 4 Australia founder Amar Singh. Picture: David Crosling

Andrew Hill of the Salvation Army

Mr Hill said staff were braced for an influx of calls if interest rates did rise, but there would never be enough staff to answer them.

“When the Reserve Bank raises rates there is a direct correlation to suicide,” he said.

“We could triple the volume of our call centre staff for our crisis assistance lines, and the phone would keep ringing.”

Mr Singh – who runs food relief programs in Sydney and Melbourne, said many were in tears and were so grateful for the help.

“We have done food relief since the first lockdown began and since then have seen the crisis go from worse to worse.,” he said.

“We thought we would get on with other projects, and focus on the homeless and needy people that way – but the food program hasn’t stopped, and we are struggling to get donations.”

People queue to receive food parcels in Thomastown, Melbourne. Source - Supplied

He said volunteers would arrive at 10am to begin the service and be met by people already waiting in line.

Mr Singh said the tragic reality was the problem was going to get worse before it got better.

“Interest rates are going up, tolls are going up, fuel is too – everything is still going up,” he said.

Australia’s annual inflation rate is currently at 5.4 per cent, with the Reserve Bank widely tipped to be planning to hike interest rates again next Tuesday after the International Monetary Fund warned this week another rates rise was necessary to bring inflation under control.

To help go to www.sydneycommunityfoundation.org.au/turbans4australia

Fundraise for the Salvos this Christmas https://givehope.salvationarmy.org.au