<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/15/social-cohesion-lowest-on-record-as-australia-reels-from-cost-of-living-inequality-concerns-and-voice-debate>
"Relentless cost-of-living pressure, rising interest rates, uncertainty about
the direction of the economy and growing concern about inequality has
undermined Australia’s sense of social cohesion, according to authoritative new
research.
After a polarising voice referendum campaign and amid rising community tensions
over the war in the Middle East, the latest
Mapping Social Cohesion Report
puts the Scanlon-Monash Index of Social Cohesion at its lowest ebb since the
survey began 16 years ago.
The social cohesion index provides a barometer of social wellbeing, measuring
belonging, worth, participation, acceptance and rejection, social inclusion and
justice. The measure declined by four points over the past 12 months, hitting
the lowest result on record. Since November 2020 – the peak of social cohesion
recorded during the Covid-19 pandemic – the index has plummeted 13 points.
The Scanlon Foundation has funded the Mapping Social Cohesion project since
2007. The 2023 snapshot, released on Wednesday, draws on a survey of more than
7,000 Australians augmented by qualitative interviews with people who have
migrated to Australia.
The report maps the context informing some of the results. It says the voice to
parliament referendum has been an accelerant to polarisation, and notes that
current geopolitical conflict and tension is also a “risk to Australia’s
harmony” because we are “connected to all sides of current conflicts through
our migrant and ancestral diversity, as well as the diversity of our values and
ideas”.
But it says sustained financial pressure is the factor weighing heavily on
social cohesion. The research shows Australians are preoccupied principally
with their stretched household budgets, housing affordability and the state of
the economy. Almost nine-in-10 (87%) survey respondents are also worried about
the risks of a severe downturn in the global economy.
In July 2020, 73% of respondents were happy with the state of their finances.
That’s dropped to 61% in the latest research. Cost-of-living pressure is
creating hardship, with 12% reporting skipping meals because there’s not enough
money for food, 12% struggling to pay rents or mortgages, and 22% reporting
insufficient income to pay for prescription medicines or healthcare.
Single-parent families, people who live alone and young people are bearing the
brunt of the pressure. Two-thirds (66%) of single parents surveyed say they are
just getting by, and 40% of the cohort report rent or mortgage stress, skipping
meals and foregoing medicines. More than half (63%) of this cohort also feel
socially isolated.
Rising economic pressure has coincided with declining trust in government.
Trust in government rebounded during the pandemic, with 56% of survey
participants saying in November 2020 the government in Canberra could be
trusted to do the right thing for people all or most of the time. Only 36% say
that in 2023."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
