Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
SpringerLink
Log in

The Rise of Food Inequality in Australia

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Food Poverty and Insecurity: International Food Inequalities

Part of the book series: Food Policy ((FP))

Abstract

This chapter describes the factors unique to Australia that both describe and report on the impact on food inequality. The context for food inequality and the measures used to give an insight are briefly described. Australia is often referred to as the ‘lucky country’. In 1964, Donald Horne wrote The Lucky Country, using the term ironically to highlight that Australia was simply lucky rather than clever as it had reaped the benefits of technological, economic, social and political innovations developed in other countries that were clever. The chapter concludes with a discussion about the future challenges of food inequity in Australia. The chapter will address the following issues: (1) The uniqueness of the Australian situation and how this impacts on food inequality. (2) How the issue/problem of food inequality is represented by government in a ‘lucky country’ like Australia. (3) The challenges for food inequality in developed countries like Australia. (4) What would a comprehensive Food and nutrition monitoring systems that report on food inequality look like?

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Anglicare Australia (2012a) When there’s not enough to eat: A national study of food insecurity among Emergency Relief clients. State of the Family Report, vol 2. Anglicare Australia, Sydney

    Google Scholar 

  • Anglicare Australia (2012b) When there’s not enough to eat. A national study of food insecurity among Emergency Relief clients. State of the Family report. Volume 1. Essays, vol 1. Anglicare, Sydney

    Google Scholar 

  • Australia Government (2015) 2015 intergenerational report: Australia in 2055. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008) Information paper: an introduction to socio-economic indexes for areas (SEIFA), 2006 (cat. no. 2039.0). http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/2039.0/

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (2010a) 2009–10 Household Expenditure Survey, Australia, cat. no. 6530.0, Table 5 Equivalised disposable income quintile, Household Expenditure, data cube

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (2010b) 2009–10 Household Expenditure Survey, Australia, cat. no. 6530.0. Table 1 Household Expenditure, 1984 to 2009–10, data cube

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013a) 2011–12 Australian Health Survey, cat. no. 4364.0.55.003, Table 6 Persons who are overweight or obese by remoteness and Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage, data cube

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (2013b) 2011–12 Household income and income distribution, Australia, cat. no. 6523.0, Table 1 Equivalised Disposable Household Income, data cube. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/6523.0

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (2015) Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Nutrition Results—Food and Nutrients, 2012–13 Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Council of Social Services (2014) The Poverty Report 2014. Strawberry Hills, NSW

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Government (2009) Future Direction for the Northern Territory Emergency Response: Discussion Paper

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Government (2013) Eat for Health. Australian Dietary Guidelines. Providing the scientific evidence for healthier Australian diets, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Government Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestery (2014) Australian Food Statistics 2012–13

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2012) Australia’s Food and Nutrition in Brief. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Australia’s food and nutrition 2012. vol Cat. no. PHE 163. AIHW, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Government the Australian continent. http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country/the-australian-continent

  • Barosh L, Friel S, Engelhardt K, Chan L (2014) The cost of a healthy and sustainable diet—who can afford it? Aus N Z J Public Health 38(1):7–12. doi:10.1111/1753-6405.12158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baum F (2008) The New Public Health, 3rd edn. Oxford University Press, Melbourne, VIC

    Google Scholar 

  • Booth S, Whelan J (2014) Hungry for change: the food banking industry in Australia. Br Food J 116(9):1392–1404

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brimblecombe JK, McDonnell J, Barnes A, Dhurrkay JG, Thomas DP, Bailie RS (2010) Impact of income management on store sales in the Northern Territory. Med J Aus 192(10):549–554

    Google Scholar 

  • Burns C, Friel S (2007) It’s time to determine the cost of a healthy diet in Australia. Aust N Z J Public Health 31(4):363–365

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burns C, Sacks G, Gold L (2008) Longitudinal study of consumer price index (CPI) trends in core and non-core foods in Australia. Aust N Z J Public Health 32(5):450–453

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carey G (2014) Inequities in the freedom to lead a flourishing and healthy life: time for a progressive social protections framework: comment on “Inequities in the freedom to lead a flourishing and healthy life: issues for healthy public policy”. Int J Health Policy Manage 3(4):223–225. doi:10.15171/ijhpm.2014.90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carey G, Crammond B (2015) Action on the social determinants of health: views from inside the policy process. Soc Sci Med 128:134–141. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.01.024

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Committe on World Food Security (CSF) (2011) Food Security and Nutrition Actions Mapping Review and Discussion Paper

    Google Scholar 

  • Commonwealth of Australia (2014) Agricultural Competitiveness Issues Paper. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Council of Australian Governments (2009) National Strategy for Food Security in Remote Indigenous Communities. http://www.coag.gov.au/coag_meeting_outcomes/2009–12-07/docs/nat_strat_food_security.pdf. Accessed 9 Feb 2011

  • Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (2014) Food statistics pocketbook 2013—in year update. Crown, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (2013) National food plan. Our Food Future, Australian Government Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Economist Intelligence Unit (2013) Global Food Security Index. http://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com/. Accessed 1 May 2014

  • Farrell J (2011) Income quarantining—the cure or the cause? Parity 24(6):33–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Food insecurity among Australian children: potential determinants, health and developmental consequences. J Child Health Care 5(4):40–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Friel S (2014a) A fair go for health? Not at the moment. Aust N Z J Public Health 38(4):302–303. doi:10.1111/1753-6405.12273

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Friel S (2014b) Inequities in the freedom to lead a flourishing and healthy life: issues for healthy public policy. Int J Health Policy Manage 3(4):161–163. doi:10.15171/ijhpm.2014.82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gallegos D, Ellies P, Wright J (2008) Still there’s no food! Food insecurity in a refugee population in Perth, Western Australia. Nutr Diet 65:78–83

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Government A (2009) Australia: the healthiest country by 2020: Technical Report No 1: Obesity in Australia: a Need for Urgent Action. Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Government A (2015) The Lucky Country, Australian Stories http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/lucky-country

  • Harrison M, Coyne T, Lee A, Leonard D, Lowson S, Groos A, Ashton B (2007) The increasing cost of the basic foods required to promote health in Queensland. Med J Aust 186(1):9–14

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison M, Lee A, Findlay M, Nicholls R, Leonard D, Martin C (2010) The increasing cost of healthy food. Aust N Z J Public Health 34(2):179–186. doi:10.1111/j.1753-6405.2010.00504.x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Henry K (2007) Challenges confronting economic policy advisers. Public Policy 2(2):89–98

    Google Scholar 

  • Horne D (1964) The lucky country. Penguin Australia, Australia

    Google Scholar 

  • Ketting C, Sinclair AJ, Voevodin M (2009) A healthy diet consistent with Australian health recommendations is too expensive for welfare dependent families. Aust N Z J Public Health 33(6):566–572

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence G, Richards C, Lyons K (2013) Food security in Australia in an era of neoliberalism, productivism and climate change. Journal of Rural Studies 29(0):30–39. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2011.12.005

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee A, Bonson AP, Powers JR (1996) The effect of retail store managers on aboriginal diet in remote communities. Aust N Z J Public Health 20(2):212–214

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lee AJ, Darcy AM, Leonard D, Groos AD, Stubbs CO, Lowson SK, Dunn SM, Coyne T, Riley MD (2002) Food availability, cost disparity and improvement in relation to accessibility and remoteness in Queensland. Aust N Z J Public Health 26(3):266–272

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lindberg R, Whelan J, Lawrence M, Gold L, Friel S (2015) Still serving hot soup? Two hundred years of a charitable food sector in Australia: a narrative review. Aust N Z J Public Health. doi:10.1111/1753-6405.12311

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McClelland A, Pirkis L, Willcox S (1992) Enough to make you sick: how income and environment affect health. National Health Strategy Unit, Melbourne

    Google Scholar 

  • Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (2015) Poverty lines: Australia. ISSN 1448-0530 December Quarter 2014

    Google Scholar 

  • Palermo CE, Walker KZ, Hill P, McDonald J (2008) The cost of healthy food in rural Victoria. Rural Remote Health 8(4):1074

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollard C (2012) Chapter 7 Selecting Interventions for Food Security in Remote Indigenous Communities. In: Farmar-Bowers Q, Higgins V, Millar J (eds) Food security in Australia: challenges and prospects for the future. Springer, Canberra, Australia

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollard CM, Bornman J (2012) The way forward. Food security and healthy food in Western Australia Workshop Report Curtin University, Perth

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollard CM, Landrigan TJ, Ellies PL, Kerr DA, Lester ML, Goodchild SE (2014a) Geographic factors as determinants of food security: a Western Australian food pricing and quality study. Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 23(4):703–713. doi:10.6133/apjcn.2014.23.4.12

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pollard CM, Nyaradi A, Lester M, Sauer K (2014b) Understanding food security issues in remote Western Australian Indigenous communities. Health Promot J Aus 25(2):83–89. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/HE14044

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollard C, Savage V, Landrigan T, Hanbury A, Kerr DA (2015) The 2013 food access & cost survey. Government of Western Australia, Perth

    Google Scholar 

  • Pretty J, Sutherland WJ, Ashby J, Auburn J, Baulcombe D, Bell M, Bentley J, Bickersteth S, Brown K, Burke J, Campbell H, Chen K, Crowley E, Crute I, Dobbelaere D, Edwards-Jones G, Funes-Monzote F, Godfray HCJ, Griffon M, Gypmantisiri P, Haddad L, Halavatau S, Herren H, Holderness M, Izac A-M, Jones M, Koohafkan P, Lal R, Lang T, McNeely J, Mueller A, Nisbett N, Noble A, Pingali P, Pinto Y, Rabbinge R, Ravindranath NH, Rola A, Roling N, Sage C, Settle W, Sha JM, Shiming L, Simons T, Smith P, Strzepeck K, Swaine H, Terry E, Tomich TP, Toulmin C, Trigo E, Twomlow S, Vis JK, Wilson J, Pilgrim S (2010) The top 100 questions of importance to the future of global agriculture. Int J Agri Sustain 8(4):219–236. doi:10.3763/ijas.2010.0534

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prime Minister’s Science Engineering and Innovation Council (2010) Australia and Food Security in a Changing World. Australian Government, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Public Health Association of Australia (2011) National food plan consultation. Public Health Association of Australia, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Public Health Association of Australia (2012) A future for food healthy. Sustainable. Fair. 2. Public Health Association of Australia, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Seal J (2004) Monitoring the price and availability of food- time for a national approach. J Nutr Diet 61(4):197–199

    Google Scholar 

  • Smyth P, Buchanan J (2013) Inclusive growth in Australia: social policy as economic investment. Allen & Unwin, Sydney

    Google Scholar 

  • Strategic International Nutrition Alliance (2001a) Eat Well Australia: a strategic framework for public health nutrition/national aboriginal and torres strait islander nutrition strategy and action plan. National Public Health Partnership, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Strategic International Nutrition Alliance (2001b) Eat Well Australia: an agenda for action for public health nutrition. National Public Health Partnership, Canberra

    Google Scholar 

  • Temple JB (2008) Severe and moderate forms of food insecurity in Australia: are they distinguishable? J Soc Issues 43(4):649–668

    Google Scholar 

  • The University of Sydney, NSW Department of Health (2003) Food Security Options Paper: A planning framework and menu of options for policy and practice interventions. Sydney

    Google Scholar 

  • Troy LM, Miller EA, Olson S Hunger and obesity: understanding a food insecurity paradigm: workshop summary. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies

    Google Scholar 

  • Turrell G, Mathers C (2001) Socioeconomic inequalities in all-cause and specific-cause mortality in Australia: 1985–1987 and 1995–1997. Int J Epidemiol 30(2):231–239. doi:10.1093/ije/30.2.231

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ward PR, Coveney J, Verity F, Carter P, Schilling M (2012) Cost and affordability of healthy food in rural South Australia. Rural Remote Health 12:1938

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ward PR, Verity F, Carter P, Tsourtos G, Coveney J, Wong KC (2013) Food stress in Adelaide: the relationship between low income and the affordability of healthy food. J Environ Public Health 2013:968078. doi:10.1155/2013/968078

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • West Australian Council of Social Services (2013) 2013 Cost of Living Report. West Australian Council of Social Service Inc, West Perth

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (2014) Australia Statistics Summary (2002–present). World Health Organization. http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.country.country-AUS. Accessed 28 Apr 2015

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nutrition, Dietetics and Food Technology, Curtin University, School of Public Health, Kent Street, Bentley, Perth, Western Australia, 6845, Australia

    Christina Pollard, Andrea Begley & Tim Landrigan

Authors
  1. Christina Pollard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Andrea Begley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tim Landrigan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christina Pollard .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Northhampton Square CM516 City University, London EC1V OHB, United Kingdom

    Martin Caraher

  2. Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia

    John Coveney

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Pollard, C., Begley, A., Landrigan, T. (2016). The Rise of Food Inequality in Australia. In: Caraher, M., Coveney, J. (eds) Food Poverty and Insecurity: International Food Inequalities. Food Policy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23859-3_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23859-3_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-23858-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-23859-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation