Narre income tops Casey

By Bridget Brady
IT’S a tale of two cities.
Less than 10 kilometres separates Narre Warren North and Doveton, but the difference in averge pay packets enjoyed by community members, is a great dividing range.
New figures released by the Australian Tax Office reveal the average wage of every postcode in Australia.
It shows about a $20,000 difference between the top of Casey’s list in Narre Warren North, and the bottom of the municipality, in Doveton.
The tax office collated the information from 2007-08 tax returns.
Despite the difference, the manager of a local support service said the figures were not an accurate reflection of the financial state of affairs of people in Casey.
Casey North Community Information and Support Service manager Susan Naden-Magee said she was aware there were low income pockets in Casey, but it was sometimes more relevant to look at people’s incomes versus their expenditure.
Ms Naden-Magee said they were seeing more growth of financial disadvantage in areas such as Berwick South and Narre Warren South where people’s incomes were affected by the Global Financial Crisis, but their expenditure had increased or debt had accumulated.
Bunyip was the wealthiest town in the Cardinia region, with an average income of $62,277, while Lang Lang sat on the bottom of the list with $41,814.