Inequality has risen to such an extent in Australia that it is now threatening the country's egalitarianism, shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh has warned.

Speaking at the National Press Club on Thursday, Dr Leigh said inequality has rise dramatically in the last generation.

Andrew Leigh: "Central to tackling inequality will be maintaining a sense of pride in our egalitarian ethos." Credit:Elesa Lee

''To put this in stark terms: since 1975, real wages for the bottom 10th have risen 15 per cent, while wages for the top 10th have risen 59 per cent,'' he said.

"Put another way, if cleaners and checkout operators had enjoyed the same rate of wage growth as financial dealers and anaesthetists, those low-wage workers would be earning an extra $14,000 a year," Dr Leigh said.