Off the Charts // Law, Society & Culture
A picture tells a thousand words and Off the Charts is where you’ll find the charts and graphs that tell the most interesting stories. Across all the areas the Australia Institute covers, we give you the pictures that help you understand what is really going on in the world.
July 2024
Superannuation tax concessions are making inequality worse
Superannuation tax concessions were designed to encourage saving, but instead they are being used by the wealthiest to avoid paying tax
June 2024
The tax stats show the gender pay remains widespread across almost all occupations
The 2021-22 taxations statistics show that men have a higher average salary in 96% of all occupations
Australian public universities are now spending millions on consultants
Figures from Queensland and Victoria reveal that public universities spend over $200m on consultants, while students HECS/HELP debt soar.
April 2024
Federal funding for private schools
In 2024, the Commonwealth Government will spend an estimated $29.1 billion on schools in Australia. More than half of this – $17.8 billion – will go to private schools.
People are starting with much larger HECS/HELP debts than in the past – and it is only going to get worse
Australians in their 20s have HECS/HELP debts more than $10,000 greater in real terms than did people 20 years ago
HECS/HELP indexation is sending those earning less than $65,000 backwards
Ending the indexation of HECS/HELP debts would deliver a truly interest free-loan for students
.February 2024
For more affordable housing we need more public housing.
Public housing was once much more common – we need more public housing rather than rely on private landlords to keep prices down
December 2023
The Wellbeing Framework needs a better measure of living standards
The Wellbeing Framework suggests Australia’s prosperity is linked with company profits, but it wrongly suggests this also measures people’s living standards.
..The Wellbeing Framework’s measure of innovation misses the mark
The Wellbeing Framework aims to measure what matters, but its measure of innovation has little to do with research or development
‘No one left behind’: Why doesn’t the Wellbeing Framework measure poverty?
According to Treasurer Jim Chalmers, the new Wellbeing Framework “helps us put … fairness and opportunity at the very core of our thinking”, but (astoundingly) lacks any substantive measure of poverty.
..November 2023
First-home buyers grants – 20 years of failed attempts to improve housing affordability
The Queensland government’s decision to double the first home owner grant is just the latest in 20 years of governments stoking demand for housing that makes affordability worse.
Australia is not being flooded by migrants
Don’t be scared by claims Australia is being inundated by migrants
September 2023
The Voice offers new way forward to end Australia’s appallingly high incarceration rates
Australia has higher incarceration rates for Indigenous men than is the case in the USA for either Black Americans or Native Americans.
The government’s measure of “well-being” just plummeted
The three months to June saw one the biggest ever falls in the government’s measure of well-being.
August 2023
The Intergenerational Report shows a massive shift towards supporting wealthier individuals’ retirements
Jim Chalmers suggests the superannuation system is the intergenerational “genius” but it really means providing more support for wealthier people who do not need it.
The Intergenerational Report shows Australia’s population is ageing, but we need not panic
Australia’s population is set to age, but that does not mean we need to go without – we just need to be honest about paying for it.
May 2023
HECS/HELP debt for low income earners is set to increase due to indexation
The indexation of HECS/HELP debt this year will leave people earning less than $62,000 with a bigger debt even after their repayments.
March 2023
New South Wales needs to end its addiction to the pokies
NSW has one poker machine for every 88 people – more than 10 times the amount in Western Australia
December 2022
The latest data shows the urgent need for more public housing
As approvals for public sector housing hit 2 year lows, the ambition for more public housing needs to be even greater than the government’s 20,000 in 5 years target.
October 2022
Rental prices are going up fast across Australia
People around Australia have been seeing the advertised prices of rents increasing, now the inflation figures are catching up.
Members of Parliament among those who benefit the most from the Stage 3 cuts
Taxation data shows which occupations will get the biggest cuts – and how few people work in them
September 2022
Don’t bet on the pokies to deliver revenue
As the Tasmanian government seeks to limit spending on the pokies, the data shows how much gambling takes from society, and how little it delivers in revenue
A strong tax base reduces inequality
A strong, progressive tax base and quality public services are the keys to reducing inequality
The cost of the Stage 3 cuts
The Stage 3 cuts will cut revenue that could be used for much needed services and programs
August 2022
New data shows how the Stage 3 tax cuts massively favour the wealthy
77% of the benefits of the Stage 3 tax cuts will go to the richest 25%
Curated by
Off the Charts is curated by Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at the Australia Institute and the Centre for Future Work.
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