The emerging underclass: evidence from Melbourne and Sydney

Since the release of 1996 Census data in 1997, the Centre for Population and Urban Research has explored the distribution of income in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, particularly for males 25-44 years of age, and for a range of birthplace groups. Two publications containing these data have been produced by the Centre: ‘A Statistical Portrait of Melbourne’ and ‘A Statistical Portrait of Sydney’. Findings derived from these works served as the basis of several feature articles in the daily press: ‘The Great Divide’ in the Sydney Morning Herald, September 17 1997; ‘Multicultural Melbourne, an Overview’ in the Melbourne Age, December 13 1997; and in the Brisbane Courier Mail, ‘South East — A Corridor of Broken Dreams’, December 30 1997, ‘Relaxed and Comfortable in Capital of Growth’, 29 December 1997, and ‘State of the State’, 3 January 1997. The present article analyses 1996 Census data to show that low-income males are concentrated in particular suburbs. Much of this concentration can be explained by patterns of settlement of recent migrants who lack the skills to compete in the contemporary labour market. Copyright. Monash University and the author/s