Invest
Inequality in Australia at 20-year high
The world’s “broken economic system” saw Australian billionaires grow their wealth by $38 billion in the 2017 financial year, and Oxfam has had enough.
Inequality in Australia at 20-year high
The world’s “broken economic system” saw Australian billionaires grow their wealth by $38 billion in the 2017 financial year, and Oxfam has had enough.
Noting that $38 billion could cover more than half of Australia’s public health spending bill, and that in the number of Australian billionaires grew from eight to 33 in the last year alone, Oxfam said the “system is clearly not working for a majority of people”.
According to the Oxfam briefing paper, Growing Gulf Between Work and Wealth, this increase in Australian billionaires has occurred at a time when Australian workers’ wages have stagnated.
Chief executive at Oxfam Australia, Dr Helen Szoke said: “Oxfam is committed to tackling poverty and inequality – but a broken economic system that is concentrating more wealth in the hands of the rich and powerful, while ordinary people struggle to scrape by, is fuelling an inequality crisis.
“Over the decade since the global financial crisis, the wealth of Australian billionaires has increased by almost 140 per cent to a total of $115.4 billion last year. Yet over the same time, the average wages of ordinary Australians have increased by just 36 per cent and average household wealth grew by 12 per cent.”
Continuing, Ms Szoke said “everyday Australians” are struggling to get by as the wealthiest grow “richer and richer”.
“The richest 1 per cent of Australians continue to own more wealth than the bottom 70 per cent of Australians combined.”
The inequality is not limited to Australia, she added, pointing to the garment industry in which wages can be as low as $974 a year for Bangladeshi garment makers, usually female.
“This economic injustice is nowhere more apparent than in the clothing industry, where the people – mainly women – making clothes for household Australian brands are often paid poverty wages,” Dr Szoke said.
“A handful of the highest paid chief executives in the Australian clothing retail sector earn, on average, about $6 million a year. At the same time, many women working in Bangladesh to make the clothes sold by these brands take home a minimum wage of $974 a year.”
This difference means a garment-maker on that salary would need to work more than 10,000 years in order to match the highest paid Australian fashion CEO’s 2017 salary based on the Kmart/Target ($6 million), Just Group ($10.1 million), David Jones ($2.3 million) 2017 CEO salary packages.
Using that same $6.1 million average, the average full-time Australian worker – who earns $1,543 a week according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, would need to work 76 years to make what one of the highest paid fashion retail CEOs make in a year.
“Hard work is no longer a guarantee for a better life – the system is clearly not working for a majority of people,” Dr Szoke said. “The federal government and Australian companies cannot ignore this inequality crisis and must act to curtail the widening gulf between the super-rich and ordinary workers.”
She said companies should look further than the earnings gap in Australia and make commitments to ensuring that garment-makers abroad have living wages. She urged them to accompany this with step-by-step strategies outlining how this would be achieved.
Similarly, Dr Szoke called on the Australian government to end corporate tax cuts and boost tax transparency laws so as to force companies to publicly report income, profits and taxes on every country they operate in.
AMP Capital last week explained that investors are influenced by Millennial concerns about the ethics of the garment industry, and are helping drive change where they can.
Kristen Le Mesurier, from AMP Capital’s responsible investment leaders said: “The conversations we have with companies suggest that some consumers consider sustainability when they buy apparel but most are still primarily driven by price.
“Investors [shareholders in listed companies] are playing a much more significant role in driving change.”
She continued: “As a large investor, we [AMP Capital] can ask listed companies to do a lot more; to audit their supply chains, to provide full transparency over where materials are coming from, who is making them and whether those workers are being paid a living wage.”
Spending
How much are you wasting on unused subscriptions?
Australians are continuing to pay for subscriptions they are not using, costing households up to $2,000 a year, new banking figures have revealed. ...Read more
Spending
Viagogo under the microscope for ‘ripping off’ consumers
Viagogo is under investigation by Fair Trading after ticket scalpers have been accused of raking in excessive profits through the ticketing site. ...Read more
Spending
Consumer spending defies lockdown
Statewide lockdowns have not hampered consumer spending, with the latest government data showing Aussies are continuing to spend more on their credit cards. ...Read more
Spending
How a cartel is dictating how much you pay at the pump
Talks among members of the OPEC cartel and allied oil producing countries have broken down, which is leading to skyrocketing oil prices, meaning everyone pays more for petrol, a government body has re...Read more
Spending
Have you noticed the price of your mobile plan increasing?
The consumer watchdog has revealed that the three main telecommunication providers have recently raised prices, meaning millions of Australians are now paying more for mobile services. ...Read more
Spending
Victoria’s lockdowns dampen retail spending
The latest COVID-19 outbreak in Victoria has dented national retail figures, as the economy continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. ...Read more
Spending
It should be easier to fix your phone, Productivity Commission finds
The Productivity Commission has found that it should be easier for Australians to get their smartphone repaired and has recommended changes that include ‘super complaints’ to be reported to watchd...Read more
Spending
You can win free flights for a year, but there’s a major catch
In a bid to keep Australia’s domestic aviation afloat, Qantas is offering free flights for a year for 10 families of four who get the COVID-19 jab, even though the failed vaccine rollout means only ...Read more
Do lockdowns boost property prices? Are short-sellers levelling the playing field? Did you lodge your tax returns early?
Listen now
Will lockdowns halt the housing boom? Is the metaverse taking over? And the cons of lodging your tax returns early
Listen now
Are you being priced out of the market? Have you got the Tuesday blues? And are you ready for the upcoming super changes?
Listen now
Are property prices set to crash? Should you jump on board the fintok craze? And how to prepare for this tax time
Listen now
Spending
How much are you wasting on unused subscriptions?
Australians are continuing to pay for subscriptions they are not using, costing households up to $2,000 a year, new banking figures have revealed. ...Read more
Spending
Viagogo under the microscope for ‘ripping off’ consumers
Viagogo is under investigation by Fair Trading after ticket scalpers have been accused of raking in excessive profits through the ticketing site. ...Read more
Spending
Consumer spending defies lockdown
Statewide lockdowns have not hampered consumer spending, with the latest government data showing Aussies are continuing to spend more on their credit cards. ...Read more
Spending
How a cartel is dictating how much you pay at the pump
Talks among members of the OPEC cartel and allied oil producing countries have broken down, which is leading to skyrocketing oil prices, meaning everyone pays more for petrol, a government body has re...Read more
Spending
Have you noticed the price of your mobile plan increasing?
The consumer watchdog has revealed that the three main telecommunication providers have recently raised prices, meaning millions of Australians are now paying more for mobile services. ...Read more
Spending
Victoria’s lockdowns dampen retail spending
The latest COVID-19 outbreak in Victoria has dented national retail figures, as the economy continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. ...Read more
Spending
It should be easier to fix your phone, Productivity Commission finds
The Productivity Commission has found that it should be easier for Australians to get their smartphone repaired and has recommended changes that include ‘super complaints’ to be reported to watchd...Read more
Spending
You can win free flights for a year, but there’s a major catch
In a bid to keep Australia’s domestic aviation afloat, Qantas is offering free flights for a year for 10 families of four who get the COVID-19 jab, even though the failed vaccine rollout means only ...Read more
More articles
Website Notifications
Get notifications in real-time for staying up to date with content that matters to you.
