Top 10 Wealthy Federal Electorate and Bottom 10 Electorates - a very brief glimpse at the Australian experience of inequality

 

TOP 10 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ELECTORATES RANKED BY ORDER OF WEALTH IN 2020*

Wentworth (NSW) – Liberal – Dave Sharna since 2019 (general election) – No 1 electorate

Warringah (NSW) – Independent – Zali Steggall since 2019 (general election) – No 2 electorate

Bradfield (NSW) – Liberal – Paul Fletcher since 2009 (by-election) – No 3 electorate

North Sydney (NSW) – Liberal – Trent Zimmerman since 2015 (by-election) – No 4 electorate

Mackellar (NSW) – Liberal – Jason Falinski since 2016 (general election) – No 5

Cook (NSW) – Liberal – Scott Morrison since 2007 (general election) – No 6

Goldstein (Vic) – Liberal – Tim Wilson since 2016 (general election) – No 7

Higgins (Vic) – Liberal – Katie Allen since 2019 (general election) – No 8

Curtin (WA) – Liberal – Celia Hammond since 2019 (general election) – No 9

Kooyong (Vic) – Liberal – Josh Frydenberg since 2019 (general election) – No 10.

Four Liberal electorates in this group contain sitting members in the office of Prime Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts and, Assistant Minister to the Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction.

Within this group of wealthy electorates only est. 6.48% of all households were living below the poverty line. 

It should come as no surprise that in 10 electorates with the lowest wealth rankings:

5 were Labor electorates – Spence (SA), Brand (WA), Burt (WA), Blair (Qld), Chifley (NSW); and

5 were LNP/Nationals electorates – Herbert (Qld), Flynn (Qld), Forde (Qld), Longman (Qld), Capricornia (Qld).

Across these five Labor electorates est.13.38% of all households were living below the poverty line**, while across the other five LNP/Nationals electorates est.12.18% of all households were living below the poverty line.

The two NSW Northern Rivers federal electorates ranked 25th (Richmond –  Labor since 2004) and 112th (Page – Nationals since 2013 general election) for average wealth per capita. With Richmond having 14% of all households living below the poverty line and Page having 16.4% of households.

NOTE: 

* Order of wealth is calculated by average per capita wealth in an electorate as set out in Roy Morgan Wealth Report, 1 May 2020.

** RMIT ABC Fact Check, "Federal electorates ranked by percentage of households below the poverty line", 24 October 2019.