The fissures in Australia are deepening and broadening after the global financial crisis due to the growing geographical inequality, the changing nature of work in a neo-liberal society--the re-emergence of the precariat-- and the politics of austerity.
Globalisation for many means the ongoing de-industrialization, which has seen the emergence of a dispossessed and marginalizaed section of the working class, the lack of secure and paid employment, the lack of affordable housing in the overheated Sydney and Melbourne housing markets, and people’s basic needs no longer being securely met.
For many working poor families it is increasingly a case of getting by whilst being stigmatised for excluding themselves from society with their “wrongness”, their bad culture and bad practices; or for being leaners getting a free ride on welfare benefits. The poorest and the most vulnerable people in our society are deemed to be worthless by the successful lifters.