Battlers and Billionaires: The Updated Story of Inequality in Australia

Is Australia fair enough? And why does inequality matter anyway?

After a long period of high inequality, from English settlement to World War I, inequality in Australia fell for about half a century. In the past generation, the gap between rich and poor has widened again. The top twenty Australians now have twice as much wealth as the bottom two million households. The typical house cost four years' average earnings in the 1980s, but eleven years' average earnings in the early 2020s.

In this updated edition of Battlers and Billionaires, Andrew Leigh tells you everything you need to know about trends in Australian inequality, and explains why inequality matters. Too much inequality risks cleaving us into two Australias, with little contact between the haves and the have-nots. And the further apart the rungs on the ladder of opportunity, the harder it is for a child born into poverty to enter the middle class. Battlers and Billionaires sheds fresh light on what makes Australia distinctive, and what it means to have – and keep – a fair go.

Introduction

1. First Nations to Federation

2. Federation to the 1970s – the Great Compression

3. The 1980s to Today – the Great Divergence

4. Drivers

5. Consequences of Inequality

6. Mobility

7. What Do Australians Think About Inequality?

8. What Is to Be Done?

'Fun, fascinating and fundamentally important. A must-read for anyone who cares about bridging our divides.' —Julia Gillard

'Be warned: this book will open your eyes and prick your conscience.' —Ross Gittins

'A thought-provoking book which emphasises how far we have strayed from confidently discussing public policies that seek to give meaning to our egalitarian spirit.' —Laura Tingle

'This is required reading for every Australian who seriously cares about the fair go enduring.' —Peter FitzSimons