Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
being competitive. We also need to recognise that the scale of economic
activity is not a measure of community well-being and move on to develop
indicators of genuine progress. It is indefensible to persist in the naïve
assumption that economic growth will produce social and environmental
benefits, given the solid statistical evidence that the unprecedented eco-
nomic performance since 1990 has coincided with limited social benefits
and serious environmental decline (ABS 2002).
Social cohesion
Fifty years ago, Australia was one of the most equal societies in the world. The
legal framework of the basic wage set a minimum standard, while the highest
salaries were only five to ten times that minimum. A strong commitment to
public education gave opportunities to bright children from a range of disad-
vantaged backgrounds. Most people used public transport, while the health
system made provision on the basis of need. Today, we are one of the most
unequal of all the industrialised nations. Executives are given salary packages
hundreds of times the average household income, often with arrangements for
tax avoidance built in. Public health care and education have been steadily run
down, and Commonwealth ministers tell those who miss out on hospital beds
or university places that they should be paying for private options. This is cruel
advice to the increasing fraction of the adult workforce that is unemployed,
underemployed or doing poorly paid casual work. Many Australian house-
holds today have great difficulty affording the basic needs of food, power and
clothing. Low-income families do not have the luxury of buying educational
opportunities or privileged health care. If we continue rationing life opportu-
nities according to income, we must develop policies that systematically
reduce the inequality of household incomes.
While the links are not simple, the widening divisions between rich and
poor are inevitably causing resentment and social tensions. While regions
can do little about national policies that bring about an unequal society,
local communities can take actions to improve public transport, public edu-
cation and community services. This is a wise investment in future social
cohesion. Children growing up anywhere in Australia should have the
opportunity to realise their potential in all ways - physically, intellectually
and emotionally.
We should also be responsible global citizens. It is not just our humani-
tarian duty to try to improve the lot of the poorest people of the world. It is
