Three nations, not one: Indigenous and other Australian poverty

Abstract

Benjamin Disraeli originally coined the phrase ‘Two Nations’ in 1845 to characterise the chasm between rich and poor in Victorian England. While the differential in access to resources has been reduced this century by the development of the welfare state, there is ongoing concern about the level of inequality in Australia. This paper attempts to develop, and sustain, the metaphor that there are three Nations in Australia: the rich, the poor non-indigenous Australians and indigenous Australians. That is, indigenous Australians are different from other poor and rich Australians in the nature and extent of destitution experienced in much of their community. <p> The paper is written in six sections. First, a discussion of several case studies and personal accounts in order to illustrate the indigenous experience of poverty. Second, an introduction of several conceptual and empirical issues for measuring the multi-faceted nature of indigenous poverty. Third, a description of the data and method used to analyse indigenous poverty. Fourth, a presentation of data which illustrates the multi-dimensional nature of indigenous poverty. The penultimate section canvasses strategies for tackling indigenous poverty while the final section provides some concluding remarks.