Oxfam reignites Australian inequality debate

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By Leith van Onselen

Oxfam has released a new report, entitled “Public good or private wealth”, which claims that inequality in Australia has worsened, with the top 1% of Australians owning more wealth than the bottom 70%, as well as 2018 recording another record number of billionaires, from 33 to 43:

The number of Australian billionaires increased by a record number again last year, from 33 to 43, with a corresponding wealth increase of $36 billion – equivalent to $100 million a day…

The Australian billionaire wealth increase of $36 billion last year is enough to fund about half of the Australian Government’s total health budget for the 2018-19 financial year.

The latest Credit Suisse data shows that the share of wealth concentrated in the hands of the top 1% of Australians was 22% last year (figure 2). As was the case in previous years2, the top 1% of Australians owns more wealth than the bottom 70% of all other Australians combined. This is while worker wage growth remains sluggish and the wealth share of the bottom half of Australians remains stuck at just 9% in 2018…

For four consecutive years since 2013-14, more than one in three of Australia’s largest corporations have not paid any taxes in Australia – and 281 companies have not paid a cent in tax for all four years.6 The official corporate tax gap amount of almost $2 billion7 – the shortfall on tax that would have been collected if all taxpayers were compliant – is more than double the Australian Government funding to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health programs…

According to The ABC, the ten wealthiest Australians are as follows:

  • Gina Rinehart, $17.4b
  • Harry Triguboff, $9.2b
  • Vivek Chaand Sehgal, $6b
  • Frank Lowy, $5.9b
  • Anthony Pratt, $5.5b
  • Andrew Forrest, $4.4b
  • John Gandel, $4.1b
  • James Packer, $4.1b
  • Mike Cannon-Brookes, Scott Farquhar $3.4b each
  • Lindsay Fox, $3.4b
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The full Australian report is here, whereas the full global report is here.

About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.