Here's the brutal reality.

IT’S a picture of Australia soiled by crime and deadly desperation which doesn’t match the usual vision of a land of blessings and hope.

But the leaders of major welfare groups say we must accept this uncomfortable view of our nation if we are going to fix the problems.

It’s a place where incarceration rates are rising by six per cent a year and are now three times that of Ireland and much higher than comparable countries.

We are moving into the higher ranks of countries plagued by corruption while neighbour New Zealand remains in the top three of corruption-free nations.

It’s where one in two women feel unsafe walking the streets at night, and where close to eight people a day take their own lives.

In a 63-page report, The Australia We Want, released today by the Community Council for Australia, the unwanted Australia is itemised with stark data which are “incredibly disappointing”, said CCA chief executive David Crosbie.

He called it “a damning picture of current day Australia and reveals shocking data that should concern all Australians”.

Some 60 leaders of from not-for-profit groups are backing its findings and CCA chairman Tim Costello will speak for them at the National Press Club today.

Australia isn’t all bad of course. We are above average compared to other OECD countries in equality of access to employment, education levels and business confidence.

But we are not as big-hearted as we might think. Volunteering is declining in every state and Australia is now ranked lower than 17 other comparable OECD countries for generosity.

Taxpayers donated 0.35 per cent of their taxable income to deductible gift recipients, lower than the 0.42 per cent recorded back in 2007/08.

The gender pay gap between men and women now sits at 17.3 per cent nationally, and the inequality of income distribution is rising and is above the OECD average with NSW and WA the most unequal.

Some states and territories are more pleasant to live in than others, with the ACT the place to go and Western Australia the place to avoid. Here’s how the report ranked each state and territory:

Australian Capital Territory +7: Ranks top of the jurisdictions.

Income levels are above average, but not at the cost of greater inequality. The ACT is one of the safest jurisdictions as well as being one of the most generous. Unfortunately, the ACT is let down by the high cost of housing, especially for those on lower incomes.

Tasmania +4: A high scorer in several key areas making it the second best performing jurisdiction.

On measures like cost of housing, fair distribution of income and perceptions of safety, it is one of the leading jurisdictions. However, educational attainment is the lowest in Australia with over a third of Tasmanians aged 15 to 74 not having completed secondary education.

Victoria +1: Ranks relatively highly mainly because it does very well in two key areas — incarceration rates are not increasing and remain well below most other jurisdictions, and Victorians are relatively generous in giving to others.

Unfortunately, suicide rates have increased by over 20 per cent in Victoria and the gap between male and female participation in the workforce is the largest in Australia.

New South Wales -1: It’s the most generous in terms of giving, but is also one of the two states where inequality in income distribution is the highest in Australia.

It is also a poor performer in areas like incarceration rates and levels of volunteering which have declined significantly.

South Australia -1: It’s a mid-ranking jurisdiction in many areas.

Incarceration rates are above the national average and levels of giving are relatively low, but the distribution of income is fairer than most other jurisdictions and female to male workforce participation ratios are better than most others.

Queensland -2: State has high levels of incarceration, the highest housing costs in Australia for the lowest quintile of income earners, and low levels of both volunteering and giving, making it one of the poorer ranking states.

Queensland achieved a positive rating for the female to male workforce participation ratio and delivered a reduction in CO2 emissions.

Northern Territory -3: Has a very high incarceration rate — double any other jurisdiction and more than four times the national average.

Suicide rates are high, housing costs are high, levels of giving and volunteering are very low making the Northern Territory the second lowest ranking jurisdiction in Australia despite scoring positively on female participation in the workforce and equality of income distribution.

Western Australia -7: State has the highest suicide rates in Australia, female participation in the workforce is the second lowest, incarceration rates are 50 per cent higher than the national average, and CO2 emissions are rising more than any other jurisdiction.

Western Australians are also not particularly generous despite a few notable exceptions — the levels of giving are the second lowest in Australia.

All these negatives make Western Australia the lowest ranking jurisdiction.

See ya then. Dont let the door hit your arse on the way out.

I feel one of our major problems is... our sentencing laws... they favour the villains...we seem to bend over to help them no matter how bad the crime and  they get out to live another day.....

they are given all sort of appeals they can go through...a very costly system that seems to cost them [the villains] nothing...

as crime is escalating now its time we got tougher..

cods wrote on Oct 28^th, 2016 at 8:14am:



"Has the murder rate in Australia gone up?

"No. According to the national recorded crime statistics published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the murder rate in 2000 was 1.6 per 100,000 of population. In 2014 (the most recent year available), the murder rate was just 1.0 per 100,000 of population."

"What about attempted murder? That’s declined too. According to the ABS, in 2000, the recorded rate of attempted murder was 2.0 per 100,000 of population. In 2014 the recorded rate of attempted murder was 0.6 per 100,000 of population.

"National crime statistics show that since the year 2000 the recorded rate of:

- break and enter has declined by 64%,
- motor vehicle theft has declined by 69%,
- robbery (the classic “street” crime) has declined by 63%; and
- general stealing offences have declined by 37%."

FactCheck: is crime getting worse in Australia?

"As for people believing they don’t feel safe on Australian streets, surveys show that most people think crime is increasing when it is not. ** – Don Weatherburn**"