Australia a classless society? No way, say these young Melburnians
Economic disparity divides Australia, says a diverse group of young people, and for some, meeting basic needs is a daily challenge as their work is not valued as much as that of their peers.
Artist Mia Boe sees the public-private school divide as a reflection of class differences.Credit: Justin McManus
In Australia, known as the land of the fair go, people haven’t traditionally thought much about class.
But ask a diverse group of young Melburnians stepping into their adult lives about class and they will tell you: there’s a divide, and it’s larger than most are willing to admit.
Asked about it, 27-year-old Indigenous artist Mia Boe says simply that it’s “huge”.
Boe, a painter whose work explores themes from her Butchulla and Burmese heritage, sees Australia’s class hierarchy as the “great divider” that shapes people’s opportunities. The big difference, she says, is where you went to school.
“I know Australians like to generally think that we don’t have a class system because it looks different to other countries around the world. But I mean, in its purest form, school education exemplifies issues with class – the difference in opportunities for public school students to private school students,” she says.
“Class is like … above race in a way, I think that’s how we should be approaching policy.”
Boe is speaking at a dinner The Age organised for five diverse young people aged 19 to 29 to discuss what life is like for young Melburnians. In a series, they also debate ideas about housing, the cost of living, politics, influential people and cancel culture.
Private school enrolments rise
If the public-private schooling divide does denote class, then the problem is growing. The Australian Bureau of Statistics records that more than one-third of Australian students go to private schools, and their ranks are increasing faster than those of public school students.
Victoria ranks second in the country for total non-government enrolments, trailing only New South Wales.
When Boe finishes speaking, an awkward hush falls over the room, broken only by some giggles as four other young people silently urge each other to say something.
Eventually, after light prompting, Jenson Galvin, a 19-year-old Liberal Party member and financial services worker, agrees that class plays a significant role in shaping people’s lives in Australia.
Galvin completed year 12 at one of Melbourne’s top private schools, Brighton Grammar, and is studying a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Melbourne. He acknowledges the class divide is “big”. However, he believes the focus on it often overshadows potential solutions.
“We keep saying ‘well, there is a class system’, but who’s doing anything to fix it? It’s certainly not the Labor government. It’s certainly not what the Greens want to happen. I won’t stand here saying it’s Liberals either, even though that’s the party I’m in.
“We need to create a system where class isn’t the reason and isn’t the rhyme, and I believe it comes through greater financial literacy.”
Abdulmalik*, a 27-year-old construction worker who grew up in Melbourne’s public housing estates, sees the issue differently.
Born to migrant parents, Abdulmalik has always been driven by the belief nothing in life comes easy. Some, he says, use class as an excuse – hard work, he believes, is the best answer to inequality.
In 2021, about 57 per cent of Australians who took part in the ABC’s Australia Talks national survey said they believed hard work and perseverance were part of the formula that led to success, regardless of their personal circumstances.
Abdulmalik agrees.
“There’s class everywhere you go. I don’t believe there’s no class anywhere in the world,” Abdulmalik says. “Class? I don’t know. I mean, it’s just the way it is, it will never change.”
Remarkably, race and gender identity are not framed as obstacles to success in Melbourne – and, while each of the five participants brings their own perspective, the group’s consensus is clear: economic disparity is the key to Australia’s divides.
For 23-year-old youth worker Ikram Mahamed, the notion that simply “working harder” is the solution to young people’s struggles feels hollow.
Mahamed argues that young people are facing an uphill battle – not just financially, but in a system that seems stacked against them.
Reflecting on her own experience growing up in the inner suburbs of Melbourne, where gentrification has rendered once-affordable working-class areas like Collingwood, Fitzroy and Brunswick financially unreachable, Mahamed says she worries about what’s to come in the years ahead.
“Imagine 20 to 30 years from now, if we’re worrying about million-dollar house prices [now], where is it going to be in the future?” she says.
“Yes, it’s good to have aspirations, it’s good to work hard – I don’t think anyone here is going to say ‘don’t work hard’.”
But she believes the odds are tilted so heavily against young people that success often feels out of reach.
“Life has changed, things aren’t the way that they used to be – we’re in a different playing field,” she says.
Jenson Galvin is optimistic about the future.Credit: Paul Jeffers
As the group mull their future over slices of pizza, it’s clear the majority share Mahamed’s concerns. Galvin admits the housing market is dire, but he insists upward mobility is still possible. He uses his own family’s experience as a guide.
“My parents grew up in Noble Park and Cranbourne and moved out of there in the 1990s. That was aspiration – it wasn’t inheritance,” he says.
“I’m not going to sit here and say that my family’s got millions of dollars of wealth because we don’t. But properties in Brighton are owned – read into that what you will.”
He’s also optimistic about the future.
“It’s terrible to think that one day our house prices will be so exorbitant that we couldn’t buy them, [even by] saving our whole life. But quite frankly, the economy changes. It’s the global nature of things. It’s cyclical. It’s like waves. It’ll come and go,” Galvin says.
A daily struggle
While housing is the most pressing economic issue these young people face, it’s well off the agenda for others, who are just focused on making ends meet.
Ryan Stewart, a 29-year-old non-binary performer and actor, balances multiple jobs while trying to pursue an artistic career. For them, savings aren’t about building wealth.
Despite working more than 80 hours a week – split between their job, a second gig and creative work – they’re still struggling to stay afloat.
“I’m saving in the sense that most of us are only a couple of bad situations away from homelessness,” Stewart says. “I only have to have my car break down, I only have to have a couple of bad things happen sequentially, and I’m f----d.
“What I’m saving for is to feel comfortable living day-to-day.”
In an attempt to inspire the group, Abdulmalik begins sharing the success story of Chobani, a yoghurt brand born out of an abandoned factory in the United States that grew into a billion-dollar global business.
His message is that perseverance can lead to success – a suggestion that again frustrates Stewart.
Galvin chimes in, explaining that while financial goals vary, the desire to grow wealth is a common thread. “Ultimately … I think that for everyone in this room, our main goal will be to expand our wealth in some way.
“My hard work and my aspiration will lead me to a different path to your [Stewart’s] hard work and aspiration. It’s not to say that you’re not having any, it’s to say that we have different goals.”
For some, like Mahamed, the goal for now is much simpler: saving enough to buy her first car.
But she agrees with Galvin that in terms of career opportunities, the arts are not as economically recognised as fields like business.
“It’s very difficult to say how that would be solved – to make sure that people can work hard and still be rewarded for the work that they’re doing,” she says.
“But at least acknowledging it, that it is there – I think is a good step to take.”
*Surname removed following doubts about being identified after the interview was conducted.
With Brittany Busch, Angus Delaney, Gemma Grant and Hannah Kennelly
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