Fed: Are we better off than we were a decade ago?

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Fed: Are we better off than we were a decade ago?

By Jim Hanna, Economics Correspondent

CANBERRA, April 30 AAP - Australians enjoyed better health, education, jobs and wealthover the past decade but the environment suffered and crime increased, an official studyshowed today.

The measure of national progress by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) foundhuman capital and produced capital improved over the 1990s while natural capital declinedand crime, an element of social capital, rose.

"Recent years have seen growing public interest in the interrelationships between theeconomic, social and environmental aspects of life," the ABS said.

"Around the world, a consensus is growing that countries and governments need to developa more comprehensive view of progress, rather than focusing mainly on economic indicatorssuch as Gross Domestic Product (GDP)."

The ABS said Australians were healthier than a decade ago, with children born in 1999expected to live three years longer than those born in 1990.

"Indigenous Australians, however, can still expect to live some 20 years less thanother Australians."

Education levels improved with the proportion of 25 to 64-year-olds with a vocationalor higher education qualification rising to 50 per cent from 46 per cent.

Unemployment declined from the recession era highs of the early part of the decade.

National wealth rose as real wealth per person grew by almost one per cent each year since 1992.

"Real income per head grew strongly during the past decade (by 2.5 per cent) - appreciablystronger than during the preceding 20 years," it said.

"The real income of less well-off Australians (those in the bottom 10 to 30 per centin terms of income distribution) increased between 1994/5 and 1997/98 by five per cent.

"The incomes of better-off groups increased by a similar amount."

The ABS said it was difficult to measure changes in Australia's natural capital overthe decade, but five of six indicators it chose suggested things had deteriorated.

According to experts, biodiversity declined as more bird and animal species becamethreatened, although efforts to stem extinction had increased.

Land clearance jumped by 40 per cent annually since 1991 while land affected by, orat risk of, degradation climbed to 5.7 million hectares.

Inland water quality declined and greenhouse gas emissions climbed by 17 per cent.

"Australia has some of the highest per capita emissions in the world, in part becauseof our heavy reliance on fossil fuel burning and also because of the Australian economy'sstructure," the ABS said.

The study also found there were increased reports of common personal and property crimeto police through the 1990s.

AAP jph/daw/ldj/de

KEYWORD: PROGRESS