DAVID ADAMS reports…
The wealthiest one per cent of Australians have more money than the combined total of 60 per cent of the country’s population, according to an Oxfam Australia report, heightening concerns about growing inequality between the rich and poor.
|
“By concentrating wealth and power in the hands of the few, inequality robs the poorest people of the support they need to improve their lives, and means their voices go unheard. If the global community fails to curb widening inequality, we can expect more economic and social problems, undermining efforts to eradicate poverty.”– Dr Helen Szoke, chief executive of Oxfam Australia |
The report released today says that the richest one per cent of Australians possess as much wealth as the poorest 60 per cent of people. Meanwhile, the nine richest individuals in Australia have a net worth of $58.6 billion, an amount which totals more than the combined net worth of the 4.54 million people who make up the bottom 20 per cent of Australia’s population in terms of wealth.
The report – Still the Lucky Country? – says that the increasing inequality between rich and poor in Australia is part of a global trend in G20 countries. Its release comes in the wake of an earlier report, Working for the Few, which showed that the 85 richest people in the world own the same as half the world’s population. Since the release of that report earlier this year, that number has decreased to just 66.
Meanwhile a survey of more than 1000 people conducted by Oxfam – the result of which are presented in today’s report – shows that 79 per cent of Australians think the gap between the rich and poor has widened over the past decade. Sixty-four per cent of those who believe the gap was widening believed it was making Australia a worse place to live.
Other findings from the survey show 76 per cent of Australians think the wealthy don’t pay enough tax while 79 per cent think the rich have too much influence on “where the country is headed”.
Three quarters of respondants think it is important that the Australian Government take action to address inequality between rich and poor in Australia while almost 80 per cent of respondents want world leaders to tackle the issue of inequality.
Dr Helen Szoke, Oxfam Australia’s chief executive, says the results of the poll show inequality is “clearly on the minds of many Australians”.
Dr Szoke says that as president of the G20 this year, Australia has a major opportunity to tackle inequality.
“The Prime Minister should put inequality of the agenda for G20 leaders in Brisbane…” she says.
“By concentrating wealth and power in the hands of the few, inequality robs the poorest people of the support they need to improve their lives, and means their voices go unheard. If the global community fails to curb widening inequality, we can expect more economic and social problems, undermining efforts to eradicate poverty.”
The research has been released ahead of this week’s Civil 20 (C20) Summit in Melbourne, the first in a series of satellite conferences being held in the lead-up to the G20 Summit in November.
