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IN PHOTO: A boy cries next to his family's belongings as a government demolition crew dismantles homes in a squatters colony in Navotas, Metro Manila in the Philippines June 8, 2015. Local officials said homes of about 1000 families in North Bay Boulevard will be demolished on Monday to pave way for a government's road widening project in the area. REUTERS/Erik De Castro

The Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) reported that over a period of 20 years, 20 percent of the Higher-income group has been able to earn five times more than 20 percent of the poor population for which a stronger social safety net has to be adopted.

The chief executive of ACOSS, Dr. Cassandra Goldie announced although the “country faces massive financial gap,” yet it is not as much divided as the United States. Dr. Goldie issued a statement saying, “we are clearly heading in the wrong direction and had a big trend here in terms of disproportionate growth of income by people at the top end compared to those at the bottom."

“A Nation Divided,” the report tabled by the ACOSS exposed that the prevailing inequality is much higher than the average when compared to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The data derived showed that upto 50 percent of increase in real wages has been accrued by the top 10 percent.

The study revealed that people lying at the bottom of the income ladder enjoyed only 16 percent of increase in their packages while the higher income ones enjoyed a rise of about 72 percent. It also showed that wages growth for the former has been through longer engagement in work whereas for the latter it has been a straight up. Dr. Goldie has expressed apprehension over the growing hiatus which would not only affect the country socially but also economically. According to the ABC, she also spoke on the alert that has been given to the country by International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The report said that South Australia, Tasmania and areas outside capital cities could also be categorised under the banner of low income areas. Dr. Goldie argued that paying fair share of tax was imperative for bridging such disparity and has asked ACOSS to introduce reform of capital gains tax discounts, negative gearing and superannuation tax concessions. The ACOSS would present the research before the conference on Monday.

Contact the writer on priya.shayani@gmail.com

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