Author(s): Justin Healey (Editor)

Education

Australia has experienced its longest ever period of economic growth over the last quarter century. Yet, there is growing debate about the distribution of benefits from this growth, and the extent to which inequality is increasing. One in eight adults and more than one in six children are living in poverty, while the share of income going to the top is growing at the expense of low- and middle-income earners. Inequality extends beyond income to educational,postcode, intergenerational and technological inequality ¿ all of whichare at the core of opportunity. How are poverty and inequality measured;what are the features of deprivation experienced by people living withentrenched economic disadvantage, struggling with rising costs of living
and housing pressures, reliant on social security and charity? Is Australia,long seen as the land of the egalitarian `fair go¿, now a divided nation of`haves¿ and `have-nots¿? How do we tackle economic disadvantage and poverty, and promote fairness and opportunity for all?