The rich get richer. It’s official. The rich are getting richer than the poor. The wealthiest 20% of Australian households have increased their average net worth 15% since 2005-06 (CPI adjusted), while the poorest 20% of households saw only a 4% rise. The Australian Bureau of Statistics this morning released its estimates of Household Wealth and Wealth Distribution showing that those wealthy households had an average net worth of $2.2 million per household, and accounted for around two-thirds of total household wealth. The poorest 20% of households had an average net worth of $32,000 per household, which accounted for 1% of total household wealth.

Releasing its survey the ABS said the average wealth of an Australian household in 2009-10 was $720,000, up 14% (CPI adjusted) since 2005-06.

There were differences in the average levels of wealth between the states and territories. Average net worth in Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania were below the national average.

Household wealth was more concentrated in metropolitan areas. The average net worth of households located in capital cities was $772,000 as compared with $629,000 in areas outside of capital cities.

Owner-occupied homes were the main asset held by Australians. Mortgages on them were the main liability, with over two-thirds of Australian households owning their own home either outright or with a mortgage.

For households who owned their home outright (2.7 million households), the average value of the home was $541,000. For those households with a mortgage on their home (three million households), the average value of the home was $521,000, and the average mortgage outstanding was $188,000, giving a net home equity of $333,000.

One in five households owned property other than their own home, including holiday homes and rental properties.

Superannuation was the main financial asset held by households, with three-quarters of all households having some superannuation assets.

For households with superannuation, the average value of their superannuation was $154,000, but for half of these, the value was less than $60,000.

But we’re a relatively satisfied lot. Life is about more than just money and wealth and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development is working away at developing a comprehensive picture of what makes up people’s lives in 40 countries worldwide. Its report How’s Life? assesses 11 specific aspects of life — ranging from income, jobs and housing to health, education and the environment — as part of the OECD’s ongoing effort to devise new measures for assessing well-being that go beyond Gross Domestic Product.

On this broad measure of satisfaction, Australia comes out near the top of the countries ranked.

Among the report’s findings:

Having a job is an essential element of well-being. Good jobs provide earnings, but also shape personal identity and opportunities for social relationships. Broadly speaking, employment rates in the OECD are relatively low in southern European countries and high in the Nordic countries and Switzerland. Long-term unemployment rates are virtually nil in Korea, Mexico and Norway, while they are almost three times the OECD average in Estonia, the Slovak Republic and Spain. Japanese and Australian workers are most likely to be working part-time, when they’d prefer a full-time job. Chileans and Poles hold the highest number of temporary contracts. Residents of Luxembourg have the highest average gross annual earnings (along with Americans) as well as the strongest perception of job security in Europe, while Czechs, Slovenians, Poles and Hungarians have the highest fears of losing their job. Average long-term unemployment rates are high among women and youth, and the wage gap is growing sharply in many countries.

South Africans and Koreans spend the longest time in daily commutes to and from work, while the Irish, Danish and Swedish have the shortest commutes. Transport time is a key element in work-life balance, an important measure of well-being in the How’s Life study. Less than 30% of European workers are satisfied with their work and life balance. Time crunch is particularly strong for working mothers and the well-being of children is strongly affected by parents’ capacity to both work and spend an adequate time with them.

People in New Zealand and Portugal are among the most social of all nationalities surveyed, with more than 75% reporting at least one social contact with friends or family per-week, while people in Poland, France and Hungary report the lowest levels of social interaction. While social connections obviously make people happy, those with extensive and supportive networks also tend to be in better health, live longer and are more likely to be employed.

Very few Finns, Swedes and Danes complain about the green space in their countries, while more than one in three is unsatisfied with the access to green space in Italy and Turkey. Access to green space and a healthy physical environment are fundamental drivers of quality of life.

Norwegians, Finns and Danes are the most politically active people, with more than 60% saying they had contacted a politician, signed a petition, worked with a pressure group or demonstrated in the past year, while Turks, Portuguese and Russians reported the lowest levels of activism. Civic engagement allows people to contribute to how their societies function.

If the Prime Minister doesn’t mean it then she shouldn’t say it. The overwhelming impression I was left with after watching last night’s television coverage of the decision not to take boat people legislation to a vote was that the Prime Minister had once again mislead the people. The shots of all that brave talk about making Tony Abbott put his opposition on the record in the House of Representatives just made her look like a dill.

And for what purpose? For weeks it had been clear that Labor’s Malaysian solution was not acceptable to the Parliament. Defeat in the House or defeat in the Senate was still going to be a defeat.