The Productivity Commission’s inquiry into philanthropy has heard that Australia is at the beginning of a “never-before-seen intergenerational wealth transfer”. By 2040, an estimated $2.6 trillion will be transferred to the next generation.
The past few decades have been such a downhill battle for the top quartile that the top 10% of households now hold 46% of the nation’s wealth.
Between 2016 and 2022 alone, wealth among the top 200 wealthiest people in Australia increased from an average of $1.05 billion to $2.77 billion, while hula hoop-sized loopholes enabled more than $370 billion to be housed in “tax haven” countries.
Despite the modifications that Anthony Albanese announced at today’s Press Club, the flag bearers of the “fair go” will be cheat-coded further into the slipstream as they are forced to bootstrap the lion’s share of $313 billion in stage three tax cuts.
These carefully concocted numbers are the bedrock of the “lucky country”. They tell many overlapping stories, including those of wealth, deceit and supreme selfishness. None of these stories can be told in isolation. They can only be told together.
Despite being one of the wealthiest nations in the world, Australia’s annual giving — at 0.81% of GDP — is dwarfed by the US (2.1) and NZ (1.84), and is lagging the UK (0.96).
Of the more than 20,800 ultra-high net worth people (which is a mild use of the English language and not my own), there are only approximately 2,000 private ancillary funds.
Put simply, Peter keeps getting robbed and Paul’s still not getting paid.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, this warped reality of “too much is never enough” — and the comfort in which it is lived — is particularly galling.
These stockpiles have been acquired and compounded via the dispossession and exploitation of First Nations peoples’ lands, waters and lifeways — a precedent that is set to be supercharged, not remedied, by the not-so-green transition to renewable energy and electrification.
We also continue to shoulder the weight of what is now colloquially known as climate change — something that we have for generations been observing, mourning and trying to prevent.
In relationship with other Indigenous peoples, we safeguard half of the world’s land and are custodians of 80% of the world’s biodiversity. We are responsible for protecting the world’s last intact savannahs, greenfields and biospheres. As the founders of sustainability, land under our tenure is better maintained, with a higher preserved biodiversity than on non-Indigenous lands.
Yet, while the health of the living lands, waters and skies are inextricably linked with the health and prosperity of the Indigenous nations that were born out of them, we collectively receive less than 1% of climate funding. Despite bearing the least amount of responsibility, the depth of existing inequalities renders us disproportionately susceptible to the climate crises’ adverse effects, and — like clockwork — this subsequently results in greater inequality, displacement and devastation.
But beyond this, what puts this never-before-seen transference of intergenerational wealth and exasperating climate crisis into a sharper perspective is that this was the backdrop for the referendum.
As the seas rose, fires and floods raged, and the $2.6 trillion in wealth and assets began being divided down family lines, backers of the Voice to Parliament pledged that “supporting it is the least we can do” as its opponents — the overwhelming majority — decisively deemed it “too much”.
After spending the best part of two years mercilessly dragging every aspect of our existence over the coals, the wider population — who were mythologised as “decent” and “generous” — put their voting differences aside after casting their ballots and collectively moved on.
One would be forgiven for forgetting the referendum ever took place, as it is now a distant memory; a figment of another time.
Whether we like it or not, our lives are irreversibly and inextricably linked. The material freedom that much of this country is held captive by is directly tied to our old people dying before they can even access the pittance of their superannuation.
And that’s why now is the time, in the wake of a failed referendum and intensifying climate crisis, that the unprecedented intergenerational wealth transfer be used to redistribute wealth, assets and land back to First Nations communities so we can restore, repair and reimagine.
According to the Paul Ramsay Foundation, just 0.5% of philanthropic giving is directed to Aboriginal-controlled organisations.
But this piece isn’t about setting the stage to advocate for more charity. No, this is about justice. What is right, rational and required. The bare minimum.
It’s about reigniting the language and laughter that have lit up these lands for millennia and confronting the existential challenges that test us all.
It’s about calling each of you in and casting a vision that enables us to establish new dynamics that can, with time, dissolve the predatory models, scarcity mindsets and incredible capacity for apathy that is synonymous with this place.
Importantly, it’s about solidifying that our inherent rights — which include the right to self-determination and economic independence — are your civic responsibility, not just the responsibility of the state.
The best time to begin paying the rent was yesterday. The next best time is now.
It’s remarkable how salmon can swim upstream like that…
But I don’t think they can make it up a waterfall. The tide of inexorable injustice in this country won’t turn until all the interconnected framework I bitterly and ironically refer to as ‘our civilisation’ has begun to collapse.
It’s creaking, groaning… but it holds yet. I give it at least about another fifteen years before real change is possible. And then it’ll be a matter of rearranging the furniture on a sinking ship. Not looking forward to the inevitable Mad-Max-esque hellscape.
Apocalyptic Kimmo.
Covid was a sneak preview of the fragility of our sustenance. I’m not sure enough of us have accepted that invitation to consider what happens when the shops stay empty…
Hey I like how you termed the pandemic in both social terms and put it as a kind of open invitation to reflect on what it actally means. To tell the truth – you may hate me for this (ahh gone are the bouncy repartee) – but Francis, the present Pope pretty much called the Pandemic in the same way. Though, to be sure, he was a bt more upbeat about what lay ahead. If anyone is interested, there are these things which the Pope customarily releases called encyclicals. These are usually broad letters to the Christian flock about some pressing issues, or what he and his curia consider such as well as to the world at large. Timely statements, really. Well, the present Pontiff has only relased 3 of these in his over 10-year reign (yes, I know – but Francis is a decidely different type of Modern Monarch), and in fact has owned only the last 2 of them. John Paul II and Ratzinger issued these letters in a vertiable flurry. Not Francis, of Jorge to take his regualr name. At any rate, Jorge released Fratelli Tutti (3 October 2020) right in the midst of the Pandemic. For those interested: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html. The title is taken from the actual words of his namesake Francis of Assisi and cn be translated: Sister All. The fundamental is a call to recognise and act on our universal sibling-state and -condition. It’s a call to make room for everyone. He incisively cuts up all the balony of competitive Capitalism, and reaches for a dream or vision (with pratical considerations of how this can be achieved) of Universal Inclusivity. Hey, if you’ve read this far then let me simply say that the future (and history shows this) is often realised in unexpected ways and with surprising (and in the end) good turns of events. Will you still speak to me?
The catholics and all other Christian based religions have never cared for embracing difference as an equal, nor have they cared for the natural environments – environments are there to serve ‘man’ and difference is a necessity that western religion has always used to further its power and wealth. Impaired vision will only lead you to a destination that is neither useful nor safe!
Exploitation is not the provenance of Western religion aka the Catholic Church. In a real way, it stems from Ancient Roman senatorial and Empire control and power. And arguably is evident across all human history, east and west. The Catholic Church is essentially a spiritual community. It can and does adapt to the political realities. In fact, if you’d like to see our environmental credentials go see Francis’ first (owned) encyclical. Laudato Si’: Laudato si’ (24 May 2015) | Francis (vatican.va) There must be room at the table in the present world for an organisation that has above 1 billion adherents at one level or another.
Well, everybody has impaired vision. That’s why we’re far more effective when we come together to hammer out our differences. And as much as we may despise Catholicism for its litany of past wrongs, and even religion more generally, the various churches have a lot of potential to extinguish some of the dumpster fire, as large community organisations ostensibly based on a moral framework.
As Pope Jorge has shown, it’s pretty damn cool when some of the posturing hypocrisy is replaced with a genuine pursuit of ideals. I’m not sure to what extent his appointment is a contained play intended as window dressing, but it illustrates the potential of these organisations to flip when enough leaders realise the emergency at hand.
Hey Kimmo, thanks for the reply and for allowing some white old men a place at the table. Ha. Your concessions are genuine insofar as I can see. Aka, ‘everybody has impaired vision.’ Yes. This is a difficult place to begin and, indeed a difficult thing to merely admit and accept. But real, and true nonetheless. And yes, cutting across hypocrisy is the way to go. Drive toward genuineness, authenticity. As to Jorge’s struggles, and as someone who knows something of the Catholic Church inside-out through close and sustained attendance and involvement across decades, let me assure everyone, his struggles are real. Competitiveness and love of power are very real factors within the catholic Church, day to day, and on the ground. Jorge’s leadership is no window-dressing of Overton’s window. You’ve spoken about kicking that window-frame of Overton’s out. The question is from what groundings do, or can you really do this – especially in today’s world of Capitalism, Democracy and Liberalism. You need a basis on which to ground your feet to push against these massifs of Power and Control. Jorge has this in the tradition of the church, which at its best is both East and West (ie. Catholic and the Eastern churches such as the Greek Orthodox). Jorge, aka Francis has met considerable resistance in the church such as for his temperate and authentic inclusion of gays and women. He reportedly meets regularly with groups of trans people and his overall approach, across those more than ten years at the top of the tree has been characterised as a steady and radical decentralisation of the Church’s traditional approach. He is a radical, on fire for God and for his neighbour (aka, human beings). And, he’s got the grounding to do this, with his feet firmly on the ground. Hey, and thanks for still speaking to me!
I drove home few months back with conjunctivitis is both eyes so you can dump the last line. Otherwise, great comment. Oh, and Western religion has relied on conformity to enhance it’s power and wealth. It abhors difference.
The local supermarket is still empty. Australia isn’t producing enough food to feed itself. Yet the chemically intensive cotton industry is allowed to tie up farms in our food bowls. What government?
If societal decay was rated like cancer, I’d say we’re stage 3. Close to terminal.
Disrupt the dominant paradigm. But how?
Btw, You’re my name sake kimmo. BC is an alias, decades old.
Stage 3 – ha sounds like the tax reform is uppermost in your mind BC. Look, I get your earlier comment about Western religion. But, is it really that simple. Why do some like to malign the Church in a kind of reflex action? Because it’s easy? Part of an open secret in which pile-Ons are okay? Remember, the Church is essentially a community. It consists of human beings, and these are important. In and or themselves. As to Kimmo’s last line, I’d say the Church isn’t so much flipping – this is the 11th year Jorge has been Pope – more a careful turning into clearer, more humane and inclusive practices and policy. What will the future look like – I mean for our Western and global world, as well as for the church. These are the relevant questions.
Yes I totally get that churches are communities. That’s their saving grace. The pile on is totally deserved is organised religion is exploiting vulnerability, and normalising delusion. As a corollary, Up here in FNQ, every whistle stop has a masonic Hall. The Masons are however, an historical relic. We could do the same to the organised fraud called religion.
And yes, because many multinationals pay no tax, I want a tax cut too. Or an entirely new system of governance or both major parties proscribed as RICOS. Things have to change. Disruption is becoming not only a necessity, but an urgent necessity.
Hey Billy, thank you for your reply. Appreciate you group of concerns. Ha. Your best line, for mine, is the one about pushing against ‘exploiting vulnerability and normalising delusion.’ I guess you’d agree that that fight is worth taking up wherever it occurs. They are big questions to address, of course, in our world drenched with those self-same characteristics, and toxically, deliberately engaged by some, perhaps many. Tis tic, our Commercial world at its worst. And wow, must be like living in a queer museum sort of space up their with the Mason lodges in FNQ. And sparse, sparse (culturally). I am seeing Bob Katter in a newer light. I will pray for you. (haha)
Culturally, the relics of conservatism, inspire quite some pushback. We have a plethora of music festivals, where they play both types of music, country and western, also doof, rock, folk. Also multiculturalism is alive and well. Additionally we have very Aussie culture, such as the northern Nat’s at the dragway and multiple bike shows. Bob and his hat have stood the test of time although he has passed on the baton to his son. And our local letter to the editor writing climate change denying red neck is Barnaby’s father in law. We have it all. Reef and beef all the way baby.
So we have a group of billionaires wanting to know how they can equitably disberse to their excess capital. Send them an email.
Reality has to feature.. or we might as well head off to Paraguay
Read that initially as Purgatory. Ha.
Another article which looks back at traditional Indigenous life through rose coloured glasses ignoring the brutal reality.
Ben doesn’t want equality but a permanent hand out arrangement and we know what passive welfare has done for Aboriginal people.
I sympathise, but demanding ‘rent’ only puts peoples’ backs up. What is ‘rent’ in your context, please? I ask with respect.