AUSTRALIANS are renowned for their egalitarian nature, yet the gap between those in the top income bracket and those at the bottom income level is becoming increasingly like a chasm.
And middle income earners are not finding it easier to make ends meet.
While a small number of top executives receive pay packets of $1 million-plus per annum, 28 per cent of households have to survive on around $25,000.
Poverty is not a word Australians readily admit to, but the reality is that it does exist in more families than many are prepared to acknowledge.
The solution is not so simple, but one of the biggest factors is unemployment and underemployment, ie those in the workforce who want to work full-time but are unable to find full-time jobs.
The way unemployment statistics are compiled they tend to fall through the cracks and are becoming a growing underclass in Australian society.
