Sam Dastyari (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I note the contribution from Senator Hume and I also note that later this evening Senator Hume and I will be launching the Parliamentary Friends of Blockchain, which will be a fantastic event that you are all welcome to attend. I think it's important and timely that we are talking about an issue that is as significant as the issue of inequality and the growing nature of inequality in this country. I note the contribution that was made by Senator Marshall. I think it was a very important one. This is an important debate. It's a timely debate. It's a relevant debate. It's a debate where a whole set of statistics are going to be thrown at people. This is not simply going to be a debate about one set of numbers versus another set of numbers. We heard from the Treasurer recently, citing figures relating to the Gini coefficient and trying to make the case as to why inequality is not a problem. Inequality is a problem. It is a real problem and it's a growing problem that people are experiencing in their day-to-day lives and their day-to-day experiences. This isn't one of those cases where politicians take a set of numbers, skew them, play with them and then represent them in a manner that is not genuine.

The day-to-day experiences of Australians across this country is that inequality is real, it's growing and it's getting worse. To note what Senator Hume said, the objective of addressing inequality is not simply to redistribute a shrinking pie. The objective is this: to grow the pie and to share that pie better. They are a dual objective. The work of economist after economist in recent years has demonstrated that one of the ways of achieving economic growth, one of the ways of actually increasing the size of the pie, is to have a better redistributive network and to address this issue of inequality.

I want to touch specifically on some of the issues that have arisen with inequality. In the first question we are here to address and take note of, which Senator Wong asked Senator Brandis, was this quote from Treasurer Scott Morrison: 'Inequality—it's actually gotten better.' Could you hear a more out-of-touch statement! The statistics speak for themselves. It has not gotten better when the top 20 per cent of Australians have such a disproportionately large share of the economy and when the bottom 24 per cent are looking at a four per cent share and a gap that is continuing to grow. When you look at executive bonuses, you have an economic system where a handful of individual Australians have simply grown and increased their own economic status at the expense of everyone else's.

I want to touch on one of the big issues that has happened with inequality. A lot of people in different speeches in this chamber have addressed issues of gender inequality and Indigenous disadvantage, which are huge matters, but there is also an intergenerational challenge here. For a generation of young Australians the growing inequality means they increasingly have to come to an acceptance that it is unlikely they will ever be able to purchase their own home. It is unlikely they are going to have the same kinds of economic security and benefits their parents had. It is likely that the security of work their parents and grandparents were able to enjoy is something they will never be able to enjoy. When you have the median property price in my city of Sydney at a million dollars, it is out of control. To give you a breakdown of what that means: a $1 million house means you need to have a $100,000 deposit on a 90 per cent loan. If you are not fortunate enough to have the start of wealthy parents, an inheritance or equity within your family, the idea that you are practically able to save $100,000 in a reasonable period of time locks you out of the market. Inequality is real and inequality is a problem this Senate needs to address. (Time expired)

Question agreed to.