|
By Kathleen Carmody
The Two Australias report by the Society of St Vincent de Paul is “a timely and invaluable contribution to a debate that must take place”, according to the
Australian Catholic Social Welfare.
The national director, Toby O’Connor, welcomed the report.
“Vinnies are correct to warn us that the gap between rich and poor is now so wide that unless action is
taken, two separate ‘nations’ may emerge in Australia,” he said.
“In the context of the Budget and the forthcoming election campaign, (political) parties will be judged on how poverty and inequality are
proposed to be addressed.”
The Budget was delivered after The Catholic Weekly went to press, but the authors of the Vinnies report dismissed as “mere pork barrelling” the $1 billion over four years which the
Budget was expected to earmark for welfare.
Terry McCarthy and John Wicks, who co-wrote the report, said that funds directed towards welfare in the Budget were merely a diversion from the main game.
“If you talk about welfare reform you are admitting defeat,” said Mr McCarthy, “$250 million a year over four years – that just reiterates the problem we’re talking about.”
He said that diverting $250 million
a year to help the poor meant little when the Federal Government had already put in place legislation – i.e. the GST – which had allowed the wealthy to pocket $3.5 to $4 billion a year.
The St Vincent de Paul
Society has hit back at the Federal Government over comments that there was no statistical basis for the gap between rich and poor.
The Two Australias – Addressing Inequality and Poverty report has
highlighted the growing gap between haves and have-nots and warns that Australia could be living in Third World conditions if the situation continues.
The Society said its findings were based on statistical
evidence obtained from a variety of sources.
Prime Minister John Howard said on the ABC’s Lateline that there was straight statistical evidence which disproved the findings.
The Society says it is
“confident that when Government and others have had the opportunity to examine our report in depth, they will realise the validity of our comments and the necessity to take action.”
It appeared, the Society
said, that some people in the Government were relying on a sentence from a Bureau of Statistics document, Income Distribution, to support their denial.
The document stated: “The income shares in 1999/2000
were virtually unchanged from the shares in 1997/ 1998 and there has not been any significant change in them since 1994/1995.”
The Society pointed out that the emphasis on “shares” of income distribution
casts a shadow over the facts about the existence and growth of the gap.
“A closer examination of that same data shows a substantial gap between incomes of the poor and wealthy over the last five years and
that the gap is growing,” it said.
“Moreover, the latest data on income distribution predates the introduction of the GST,” the Society said.
|
