A guide to Inclusive Prosperity

Wayne Swan MPMichael Cooney

Labor’s mission

“I believe it is our mission to tackle inequality. Inequality is on the national agenda …

“Equality is not a dividend of economic growth, it is a pre-condition …

“We can only plough the fields of prosperity by acting to end inequality.”

- Bill Shorten MP, Federal Labor Leader, June 2015

Australia’s economy has kept growing.

Q1-2007

Q3-2007

Q1-2008

Q3-2008

Q1-2009

Q3-2009

Q1-2010

Q3-2010

Q1-2011

Q3-2011

Q1-2012

Q3-2012

Q1-2013

Q3-2013

Q1-2014

Q3-2014

Q1-2015

Q3-2015-15.00%

-10.00%

-5.00%

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

30.00%

AustraliaCanadaFranceGermanyItalyJapanUnited KingdomUnited StatesEuropean Union (28 countries)

Middle Australia has benefitted – average incomes are higher here …

… the bottom 90 per cent have been getting a fair share of income growth.

We’ve done that without going down the American road of inequality …

19211924

19271930

19331936

19391942

19451948

19511954

19571960

19631966

19691972

19751978

19811984

19871990

19931996

19992002

20052008

0.00%

5.00%

10.00%

15.00%

20.00%

25.00%

AustraliaUnited States

… or the American road of squeezing middle-class incomes …

1995 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 20120.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

70.00%

Median Income Australia

Median Income United States

Median Income United Kingdom

… or the American road of a low minimum wage.

AustraliaLuxembourg

BelgiumIrelandFrance

NetherlandsNew Zealand

GermanyCanada

United KingdomUnited States

KoreaJapanSpain

SloveniaIsrael

GreecePortugal

PolandTurkey

Slovak RepublicCzech Republic

HungaryEstonia

ChileLatvia

Mexico

9.549.24

8.578.36

8.248.2

7.557.197.18

7.066.26

5.855.52

5.375.14

4.874.424.41

3.593.49

2.992.84

2.582.49

2.221.46

1.01

One important reason is we have stronger trade unions in Australia.

19171921

19251929

19331937

19411945

19491953

19571961

19651969

19731977

19811985

19891993

19972001

20052009

20130.00%

10.00%

20.00%

30.00%

40.00%

50.00%

60.00%

Union membership Share of income going to the top 10 percent

The result? Stronger growth AND a fairer share for ordinary people.

Australia should aim to keep this.

We need a growing economy – prosperous – and an economy where everyone benefits – inclusive. How?

A good economy strengthens the “building blocks” of inclusive prosperity. Jobs that pay, education for the future, health care when you need it, a house you can afford, and secure retirement income.

Inequality threatens this in Australia.

Inequality is still too high here ...

… and wages aren’t keeping up with the extra work Australians are doing.

That’s bad news for the economy.

Fixing this is a key to Labor’spro-equality policies

• Get rid of superannuation tax bonuses for the richest Australians

• Make sure international companies pay a fair share of tax for their Australian profits

• Protect overtime and weekend penalty rates• Make “negative gearing” fair

for new home buyers• Protect pensions and family payments• Stop cuts to Medicare and hospitals – and stop cuts to schools,

universities and TAFE

But powerful vested interests benefit from inequality.

This is the central political and economic challenge of our time