Respect versus division (Edition Introduction) - Page 2
From Griffith REVIEW Edition 15: Divided Nation
© Copyright Griffith University & the author.
Written by Julianne Schultz
IN HIS FINAL SPEECH TO PARLIAMENT AS OPPOSITION LEADER in November 1995, John Howard decried the damage that had been done by these reforms: "The worst legacy of this government ... will be the extent to which it has divided the Australian community, the extent to which it has put one Australian against another, the extent to which it has presided over the widening gap between rich and poor ... [Paul Keating] will wear the mark of dividing Australian society, of being a leader who has wounded and wrecked rather than healed and united, of being a leader who has seen partisan political advantage in setting one group against another."
Throughout his prime minister-ship Howard has been adept at managing division, and he has not shied away from fostering it. His government has been blessed with a buoyant economy and the flexibility this money provides.
The long boom of the past decade and a half has put paid to the old shibboleth that Australia cannot manage booms. Over the last few years, unemployment levels have fallen to record lows, the economy has continued to grow respectably without overheating, gross domestic product per person has increased faster than in comparable countries, and in the decade to 2003 income has increased by about 24 per cent for people living in both rich and poor postcodes.
Yet, over the same period, inequality has increased. The salaries of chief executives have increased from eighteen times the average wage to sixty-three times, conspicuous consumption by the affluent to some degree relies on the low wages paid to those in the hospitality, retail, childcare and agricultural sectors.
Generally we prefer to avert our eyes from those who have not done so well from the boom. Home ownership remains the key to economic wellbeing in this country, but as prices have increased it has become less affordable for many, just as others have made small fortunes from property speculation. Each year, more than $200 billion is collected and redistributed through the vast array of family and income support payments, yet single people living on welfare make do on $72 a week below the poverty line.
Former US President Bill Clinton once remarked that what a country does with its prosperity is as much a test as what it does when times are hard. The longterm scorecard on Australia's performance in this boom cannot be written yet, but as the stories in this issue illustrate, it is not likely to be as uncomplicated or generous as many would hope.
In December 2006 in his first speech as Leader of the Opposition, Kevin Rudd echoed John Howard's earlier critique when he said: "This country is engaged in a battle of ideas for Australia's future ... In an absolute nutshell that is the divide between us – a view that says it is about me, myself and I and an alternative view which says that we are about an Australia which recognises that individual hard work, achievement and success are to be encouraged and rewarded, but at the same time we cannot turn a blind eye to the interests of our fellows human beings who are not doing well. That has been the divide between us for a century and remains the divide today."
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DIVISION IS SOMETHING THAT can creep up unexpectedly if you don't read the signs right. Like a southerly buster blowing up the coast, first there are a few white caps on the sea, then a dark line in the water, and before you know it a gale that drops temperatures and debris in its wake. At the beginning of 2007 two states were still booming, one was in recession and another was on the cusp of recession. The luxury of having more money and ideas looked set to expire.
Social division is a bit like that too, hard to predict, but impossible to ignore once it arrives. It can also be whipped up in a fury of rhetoric, ideology and spin, even in a relaxed and comfortable place like this. The naming and shaming of refugees, Muslims and Aboriginal people has proceeded with tacit, and at times explicit, political endorsement.
This is a tactic which has delivered for some politicians during the boom, but is at odds with the best of the Australian tradition. Egalitarianism and tolerance have had a tough time remaining the dominant values in recent years. The boom has softened this attack, but the corrosion has begun and if things turned bad, as they did in Wollongong in 1982, the repercussions could be considerable. The Sydney riots in 2005 demonstrated, in some communities a sense of grievance is not far below the surface.
The 2007 election campaign will be a test of how serious this is, and how resilient we are. A national survey by the Social Research Policy Unit at the University of New South Wales on the essentials for reasonable wellbeing reveals that everyone – rich and poor – considers being treated with respect by others as fundamental, more important than having lots of stuff. Respect transcends division and can be applied to all aspects of our lives. It is time to listen to the stories of those who have missed out, or been made invisible and try to understand, rather than turning a blind eye or reacting with a flash of fear. ♦