Fair Go Australia - Assignment Solution

Introduction:

Economical developments and technological advancements of a particular region do not ensure equal sharing of rights, facilities or wealth among the members of the society. In many developed nations inequality among varied communities has shaped up as a major concern for the government and political leaders. The difference in living standards, education levels, employment status and other facilities are the main factors causing inequality among the communities in a society.

Australia today one of the most advanced nations having a well developed infrastructure and a growing economy also exhibit traces of significant difference in life styles and access to facilities among certain communities. Also, an inordinate amount of wealth possessed by a certain group in Australia portrays the huge gap among the communities. Multiple factors like government policies, environmental changes, jointly contribute in creating the inequality among the communities. Owing to the same differences Australia’s claim of a ‘fair go land’ appears to be dubious.  

Australia a ‘fair go land’ ?

The term ‘Fair go land’ portrays a land offering equal opportunities and rights for its occupants, whereas various segments of Australian society poses a challenge for the same statement. Advancements and developments inducted in a society must be fairly shared among all the communities providing equal growth opportunities and access to basic facilities. However, in Australia gap among a small portion of most privileged and impoverished people is quite obvious, irrespective of various government policies and measures to reduce the gap the same is constantly widening.

Segments reflecting inequality in Australia;

Indigenous Community:

Indigenous are the most impoverished people in Australia. Since the beginning of the colonization era, Australian indigenous community not being considered as the equal citizen of Australia, are constantly deprived of their equal rights. As state by O’Toole (2012, p. 220) that ‘many indigenous peoples live in imposed poverty with living conditions that a non-indigenous person would not tolerate’, the unequal distribution of opportunities and rights becomes quite prominent. Moreover the absence of indigenous individuals on any responsible or high status job position, and least number of indigenous children reaching university levels of education portrays least growth opportunities available for indigenous communities in Australia, highlighting a significant gap among the indigenous and non-indigenous in Australia. Ahsan (2017, p. 56) stated that ‘in Australia, Indigenous poverty is widespread, deeply entrenched and probably underestimated’.    

Wealth inequality:

It is stated that ‘The highest 20% of Australians lives in a household with five times as much income as the lowest 20%’ (Australian Council of Social Service, p. 1). Wealth difference in Australia has shown a significant incline since last few years, the same unequal wealth distribution have attained Australia third position among the developed nations on globe.