Blind Freddie can see the length and depth of growing inequality. At a casual glance on the streets of cities and towns ; thousands doss down by shop windows, in parks, river banks and by-ways, all over Australia. Children die in encampments by rivers. According to the ABS in 2025 on any night, 122,000 people are experiencing homelessness; 1 in 7 of those are children, while First Nations people make up 20% of the homeless population despite being less than 4% of the total population.
Homeless camp Wagga Wagga
At Food-Banks, pensioners, the unemployed, students and the working poor; turn up to collect food and essentials. In many locations, charities turn out on the street with hot food to feed those same groups. (354,000 /month in Australia (ABC TV news12/5/26)
Food Bank Inner City Sydney
Side-Hustle or necessity – bottle and can collectors
Welfare groups and charities are constantly advertising the huge unmet needs of a vast class. Those lucky to be housed and paying rent or a mortgage are busy securing the record profits for banks, finance and mortgage companies. However following market dictates, the Reserve Bank raises the interest rates apparently to stop inflation by suppressing wild spending on consumption. This further benefits the banking and finance sector.
A common response by the working poor is to get a second or third job which is passed off in neo-liberal speak as a “side-hustle”. Rather, it’s a lifeline for people on casual rates or contracts who need to pay the bills. Certainly the wages/salary proportion of the economy compared to the profit part has declined. This can be blamed on the decline of strong trade unions battling for wages and conditions. Since the 1980’s, successive governments state and federal, ALP and Coalition have sought to suppress trade union power using the courts and Royal Commissions. Trade union officials were jailed and fined for standing up for worker’s rights. Labour solidarity is further suppressed by the use of “labour –hire companies. Usually workers hired by such entities suffer lower wages and poorer conditions.
For those unable to be employed there is the so called social security net which offers crumbs and no dignity .
| Centrelink Payments Relative to the Poverty Line * (ACOSS) | |
| Youth allowance | $299 per week below the poverty line |
| Jobseeker (single) | $233 per week below the poverty line |
| Jobseeker (+partner) | $237 below the poverty line |
| Jobseeker (sole parent) | $220 below the poverty line |
| Pension (single) | $52 below the poverty line |
| Pension (+partner) | $74 below the poverty line |
- Poverty line -Single adult: $584 per week
“Australia’s biggest banks are expected to rake in about $30 billion in profits this financial year, helped by surprisingly strong loan growth, cost-cutting and low numbers of borrowers struggling to repay their debts.” (SMH Nov 2 2025)
According to the anti-poverty organisation Oxfam, last year, Australia’s 178 billionaires are $25.7 billion richer than last year. It also found that, the 20 richest Australians now hold more wealth than the bottom 3 million households.
| Top 10 Wealthiest Australians (2026 |
| Gina Rinehart – $39.01 billion (Mining) Harry Triguboff – $32.29 billion (Property) Anthony Pratt & family – $25.19 billion (Manufacturing) Ivan Glasenberg – $22.38 billion (Mining) Clive Palmer – $19.56 billion (Mining) Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht – $17.56 billion (Technology) Nicola Forrest – $17.32 billion (Mining) Andrew Forrest – $15.93 billion (Mining) Michael Dorrell – $13.82 billion (Investment) Mario, Marcello and Adrian Verrocchi – $12.76 billion (Retail / Chemist Warehouse) |
The people of Australia, who build the country, who work and serve people and actually pay the taxes that fund the nation; should not be distracted by mild tax reforms and platitudes of politicians.
There will be no relief for the people from the billionaires and their financial backers. When billionaires and their parliamentary pawns lay down the laws and feed people crumbs there is no justice or dignity. A people’s democratic republic would build peoples’ welfare, serve the nation as a whole and not indulge a tiny parasitic class.
