Economic crisis spawns depression booklet

The national depression initiative, Beyond Blue has released a booklet to help Australians cope with the global economic crisis.

Beyond Blue chairman, Jeff Kennett says many families will find themselves in financial hardship over the next 18 months.

He says the booklet details strategies on how to cope with stress associated with financial loss and retrenchment.

"It's a booklet that helps to focus our attention through education on the things that we need to do if in fact we're in either of those two categories," he said.

"I think more importantly it's designed to educate us all about how to deal with change that might affect our lives and that of our families."

Related:

Economists sound recession warning
It is very predictable and the worst case could be something up to the level of the Great Depression which was 20 per cent unemployment and lasting up to a decade.

Financial crisis will hurt jobs, Swan warns
Job losses across Australia will be inevitable as the effects of the global financial crisis hit Australian businesses, Treasurer Wayne Swan says.

More families needing emergency support
The welfare group Anglicare says it is noticing a growing need among working families for emergency relief and housing support.

Freefall Friday: $84b - worst day in 21 years
Australian shares had their worst day since the crash of 1987, losing more than 8%, as mounting recession fears sent equity markets tumbling around the world.

States 'dreaming' over extra funding
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says he will not bow to pressure from states to provide billions of dollars in extra funding.

Economists predict unemployment rate rise
The unemployment rate has jumped from 4.1 per cent to 4.3 per cent.

Market plunges 5pc, dollar crashes
The Australian share market plunged 5 per cent today, as the dollar hit a new five-year low. Fear of a global recession has seized markets, with big falls across the major indices overnight.

Associate Professor Steven Keen.
Steven Keen has come increasingly to prominence over the past couple of years specialising in the economics of Australia's spiralling household debt burden.

$50b Aussie wipe-out
Australian stocks wiped more than $50 billion off the value of the market today after the US House of Representatives rejected a $US700 billion ($860 billion) plan to rescue the financial system.

Upwardly immobile: mortgage stress bites
Reserve Bank statistics do not begin to tell the real story of housing stress in Sydney's western suburbs, according to financial counsellor Mike Young.

Households give up three years of gains
AUSTRALIAN households have been hit so hard this year that their financial gains of the past three years have been wiped out, a Reserve Bank report has found.