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This paper is a reflective historical survey of how Australia, despite its affluence, has not delivered 'the good life' to poor Australians, both indigenous and non-indigenous. It argues that, contrary to our national mythology, this country was founded on institutionalised social inequality and on the exclusion of Indigenous people from land rights, property and equal citizenship. As one of the world's twenty richest countries, we perform poorly across a wide range of social and health indicators because we suffer from entrenched, systemic and growing inequality. If we are to survive the challenges that face us from climate change and the global financial crisis, we need to shape policies that mitigate income and social inequality and that promote inclusion and better social cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As noted in the preamble to the 2007 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 'persons with disabilities continue to face barriers in their participation as equal members of society and violations of their human rights in all parts of the world'. In this paper we present nationally representative data on the nature and level of disadvantage faced by young Australians with a long-term health condition, impairment or disability in 2001 and 2006. The results suggest that: (1) when compared with their non-disabled peers, young Australians with a long-term health condition, impairment or disability face pervasive social and material hardship and have lower subjective well-being; (2) no progress was made between 2001 and 2006 in equalising the opportunities of young Australians with a long-term health condition, impairment or disability; (3) lower subjective well-being is not inherently associated with disability, but is contingent on the experience of social exclusion and material hardship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current policy debate about the future of small Indigenous homelands communities in remote Australia is being framed in terms of a narrow economic definition of 'viability', with little attention to factors such as the social characteristics of such communities and the health, well-being, and aspirations of those who choose to live there. The debate is taking place in the absence of comparative socio-demographic data on these communities as opposed to other kinds of settlements in remote Australia. This paper argues for a broader conceptualisation of viability. It outlines some reasons why governments might consider helping homelands communities to become more economically self-sufficient rather than starving them of support so that their inhabitants increasingly face a 'choice' between a marginalized and impoverished existence on the homelands and recentralisation in larger settlements. The argument is based on an analysis of ethnographic data from north-east Arnhem Land that demonstrate the social cohesiveness and functionality of homelands communities as compared to larger hub settlements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concern over the reliability of conventional poverty studies has focused attention on the need to demonstrate that those identified as poor are actually experiencing hardship. This paper takes a step in this direction by examining poverty using a living standards approach derived from the literature on deprivation and social exclusion. Deprivation - defined as an enforced lack of socially perceived necessities - has emerged as a way of identifying who is missing out on what the community regards as the necessities (or essentials) of life. Social exclusion - which exists when individuals do not participate in key activities in society - has opened up new areas of inquiry relating to a lack of connectedness between individuals, the communities in which they live, and key economic and social processes. The findings indicate that many Australians face deprivation and exclusion in numerous aspects of their lives, and that those defined as poor in income terms are different from those who are deprived or excluded. The low overlap between the three indicators implies that they all have a role to play in documenting the extent of social disadvantage and helping to identify the factors that contribute to its various manifestations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]