An Analysis of Social Issues in the Australian Society and Solutions

This essay delves into the complex social landscape of Australia, examining key issues that impact its citizens' quality of life. The paper highlights wealth inequality as a growing concern, where the gap between the rich and the poor is widening, leading to significant social disparities. Gender discrimination, particularly in the workplace, is another critical issue, with a persistent pay gap and unequal opportunities for women. Additionally, the essay discusses the challenges faced by the higher education sector, including budget cuts and staff turnover, which affect the quality of education. The author proposes several solutions, such as establishing a standard income to ensure a decent living standard, enforcing equal pay laws to combat gender discrimination, and increasing investment in the education sector to foster innovation and retain quality faculty. The essay emphasizes the need for policy changes to address these issues and promote a more equitable and prosperous society in Australia.

Running head: AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................2
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5

2AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
Introduction
Australia is considered to be the sixth largest country in terms of the total area.
Australia considered an ideal country for people living here because of the political
framework, diversity, education and job opportunities. However, there are many social issues
that exist in the country that prevents people from attaining the overall good life in the
country. This paper talks about the country Australia and the social problems that are in the
country and the necessary change the country can go through that will help Australia to attain
good life that will help in the overall development of the country.
Discussion
The Australian society has developed and has been developing in order to make
significant changes in the society. The society has introduced laws to protect the people of
Australia so that they live in harmony and attain a good life. However, despite all the efforts
made by the country in order to attain good life there are still some issues that exist in the
Australian society that hinders the overall growth of the country.
Wealth inequality exists in every country however it is the degree of in equality that
matters. Wealth inequality is Australia is growing and is becoming a massive social issue.
The wealth inequality is on the rise in Australia. According to the research by Roy Morgan,
the net wealth of Australia has grown however this has benefited the wealthiest people as
they huge gains have been amongst these people (Roy Morgan 2019). According to the Gini
index the level of wage and income in Australia is unequal than the average OECD countries
and the Gini coefficient is 0.34 (Acoss.org.au 2019). The strong growth in the economy
however the unequal growth in the economy and the wages, investment incomes and the
succession of the income tax cuts have been the major causes for the inequality in the country

3AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
(Hutchens 2019). This is having a huge impact on the society as the wealthy people are
becoming wealthier whereas the poor are stagnant and there is no growth in their economy.
Gender discrimination has been a social concern in many countries including
Australia. In modern times Australia still has gender discrimination in the workplace.
According to reports, men earn more than females in all the industries however the gender
pay gap is narrowing in the country at a slow pace. It has been seen that men get 21.3% more
remuneration in totality than women (Remeikis 2019). This has become a huge issue that
exists in a developed country like Australia.
The higher education sector is a primary contributor to the economy in Australia.
However, this sector has been facing many challenges that are having a negative impact in
the country. Various reasons like budget cuts, staff turnover and a halt in initiatives has led to
this industry or sector facing problems that has become a problem for the society.
Australia is an ideal country with a transparent government, good economy and
concrete laws and many more. Australia has some social issues residing in the country that
affects the society. There are certain changes Australia can make in order to make a
difference and curb the issues residing in the society. The country should make a standard
income for people that will ensure they live a good life. Introduction of laws that support
equal pay needs to be initiated that will end the discrimination and the pay gap that currently
is residing in the industries in the country. Attractive budget needs to be provided to the
education sector for the development of the education sector. New innovative technology
needs to be introduced in the education system and faculties need to get a good salary that
will ensure the growth and development of this sector.
Australia is highly developed country and is constantly developing in terms of their
political and economical aspect. Australia is a diverse country with people from different

4AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
countries coming and residing here however there are certain types of discrimination in the
country which needs to be solved. Wealth inequality in Australia is very much prevalent
which has negatively impacted the citizens of the country especially people with low income
and middle income group. The low growth in the wages has affected the cost of living and
has made people live in difficult situations and has negatively affected their standard of
living. It is important to set a standard income for the employees who belong from the middle
and low income groups in order to provide them with a smooth living (Figari and Paulus
2015). This will help the people to live a secure and a healthy life as the necessities will be
affordable to them. Many people comprise in their daily lives in terms of food and clothing as
the prices are high compared to their salary or income thus a standard income that will be set
by assessing the cost of their daily living will help people in living a carefree life which will
pave way for the good life.
Gender discrimination has become a concern in the Australian society. Many women
who are at power with their men colleagues get paid less because of their gender. Equal pay
is important in the society as unequal pay is highly unethical and hinders the growth of the
society. According to scholars, non-discriminatory and fair pay systems are necessary and a
legal requirement that provides an insight about the management of the society and the
organizations of the country (Kyriacou, Muinelo-Gallo and Roca-Sagalés 2017). Unequal pay
in a workforce negatively impacts a woman which leads to decrease in their motivation and
often result in mood swings because they put in the same effort as the men in the workforce
yet get less salary. According to scholars, women have been in depression and have had
mood swings because of the discrimination they have faced in the workplace (Platt et al.
2016). Thus equal pay is necessary because women deserve equal remuneration for their
work and this will help women in being motivated and work without any concern in the
society.

5AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
The budget cuts in Australia have negatively impacted Australia that has paved way
for staff turnover. Education is an important sector that contributed to the economy of
Australia and also caters to over one million students in the country. According to scholars,
faculties in the education sector need to be paid well to prevent staff turnover as faculties are
one of the most important resources of the education sector that teach and help students to
grow to become successful individuals (Bedenlier and Zawacki-Richter 2015). Faculties help
in shaping the students for their overall growth which is important in the education sector.
Innovative technology needs to be introduced to enhance the education system that will help
in teaching students in a more advanced way. According to scholars, technology these days
help students to learn in a better way because visual education stays in the mind of the
students that helps in making learning in an easier way (Kruss et al. 2015).
Conclusion
Australian society has been an ideal society to live in because of the political,
economic and social aspects however there are issues that have not been resolved after many
attempts that is hampering people of the country to attain good life. With effective changes
that will be made in certain social issues will help in curbing the issues and help the people of
the country attain a good life which will mark the overall development of the country.

6AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
Reference
Acoss.org.au (2019). [online] Acoss.org.au. Available at: https://www.acoss.org.au/wp-
content/uploads/2018/07/Inequality-in-Australia-2018.pdf [Accessed 7 Jun. 2019].
Bedenlier, S. and Zawacki-Richter, O., 2015. Internationalization of higher education and the
impacts on academic faculty members. Research in Comparative and International
Education, 10(2), pp.185-201.
Figari, F. and Paulus, A., 2015. The distributional effects of taxes and transfers under
alternative income concepts: The importance of three “I” s. Public Finance Review, 43(3),
pp.347-372.
Hutchens, G. (2019). Top 1% of Australians own more wealth than bottom 70% combined.
[online] the Guardian. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/jan/22/top-1-per-cent-of-australians-own-
more-wealth-than-bottom-70-per-cent-combined [Accessed 7 Jun. 2019].
Kruss, G., McGrath, S., Petersen, I.H. and Gastrow, M., 2015. Higher education and
economic development: The importance of building technological capabilities. International
Journal of Educational Development, 43, pp.22-31. technology
Kyriacou, A.P., Muinelo-Gallo, L. and Roca-Sagalés, O., 2017. Regional inequalities, fiscal
decentralization and government quality. Regional Studies, 51(6), pp.945-957.
Platt, J., Prins, S., Bates, L. and Keyes, K., 2016. Unequal depression for equal work? How
the wage gap explains gendered disparities in mood disorders. Social Science & Medicine,
149, pp.1-8.
Remeikis, A. (2019). Australian men earn 21.3% more than their female colleagues, review
finds. [online] the Guardian. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/nov/12/australian-men-earn-213-more-
than-their-female-colleagues-review-finds [Accessed 7 Jun. 2019].

7AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT
Roy Morgan (2019). Wealth inequality in Australia is getting worse. [online] Roy Morgan.
Available at: http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/7733-wealth-inequality-in-australia-is-
getting-worse-201809210554 [Accessed 7 Jun. 2019].