Australian Study Shows Cost-of-Living Crisis Impacting Social Cohesion
Struggling financially can decrease a person’s sense of worth and belonging in Australia and increase feelings of pessimism. A survey of 7,500 people by the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute found that over 40 percent of Australians now describe themselves as poor, the lowest level of belonging in the nation. Additionally, 12 percent of respondents say they sometimes go without food and 22 percent cannot afford medical care, contributing to the lowest level of social cohesion in Australia in 16 years.
Lead researcher James O’Donnell from the Australian National University noted that as financial struggles increased, feelings of worth and belonging decreased to their lowest point. The proportion of people who reported being satisfied with their finances dropped to 61 percent in 2023, down from 64 percent in 2022.
Economic inequalities also negatively impact people’s sense of social cohesion in Australia. Someone in the highest 20 percent of the income scale lives in a household with almost six times as much income as someone in the lowest 20 percent of the income scale, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. A record-high 84 percent of people believe the gap between those with high and low incomes is too large.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stated that cost-of-living is now his government’s top priority, specifically acknowledging the pressure on single-parent families and young people living alone. However, these challenges have not compromised the high and growing support for multiculturalism and diversity in Australia. In 2023, 89 percent of Australians agree that multiculturalism has been good for Australia.
While some argue that multiculturalism worsens social cohesion due to external conflicts such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, others believe that building on resilience can foster true belonging in Australia.
