A new report card shows inequality in Australia isn’t as bad as in the US – but we’re headed in the wrong direction.

Monash University’s newly released report card assesses Australia’s progress on 80 economic, social and environmental targets and models a range of policy shifts that could boost progress.  The report draws on the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to select a broad and balanced set of indicators and targets.  They report progress on more than half of these targets has either stagnated or is going backwards, and growing inequalities threaten the wellbeing of many Australians.

This report comes on the heels of America’s own State of the Nation report, which puts the US near the bottom of global rankings on inequality, violence, trust and polarisation.  The situation in Australia is not yet as dire, but Australian data signal a need to start thinking long-term and take bold action on inequality to avoid a similar fate.