Zu den Einkommensverhältnissen in Australien legte 2001 die Society of St Vincent de Paul eine Studie vor („Social Justice in Australia -Income Gaps“), die unter anderem vermerkt:
„In the past 10 years in particular globalisation has resulted in massive wealth creation. ABS data shows that between 1992 and 2000 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by almost $180 billion and Australia’s net worth grew by over $830 billion. But there is no shortage of hard evidence that this wealth has been disproportionately spread, both in terms of those to whom it has accrued, and its geographic concentration in specific and identifiable areas of our capital cities. Some examples:
- While GDP has grown by leaps and bounds in the last 20 years, it is patently obvious to even the most casual observer that not everyone has´ benefited. While the top quintile of households in the 1990s enjoyed around 50% of Australia’s gross weekly incomes, the bottom 20% of Australians received less than 4% ;
- A comparison of data between the 1993/4 and 1998/9 Household Expenditure Surveys by the ABS (Docs 6530.0) shows for example:
- The approximate 2.2 million Australians in the lowest quintile of household incomes in the five (5) year period received an average weekly increase of´ $9 – that is a 5% increase to $160 per week.
- In contrast, the top 20% of income earners over that same period received an average weekly increase of $343 – a 23.4% increase to $1,996 per week.“