Cost-of-living worst thing about Australia: Pollinate study
Over half of Australians believe things are getting worse in our country, according to Pollinate’s latest research, with cost-of-living considered the worst aspect of Aussie life.
This is according to The Australia Pulse study, which shows that cost of living is the very top concern for Australians, ranking above all other environmental, social, or economic issues.
62% of respondents saw cost-of-living as the worst thing about living here, followed by distance to other countries, access to suitable housing, and the current political system.
Conversely, lifestyle is considered the best thing about Australia (40%), followed by living conditions (36%), and access to healthcare (34%).
This malaise around the cost-of-living isn’t surprising. Financial stability is seen by Australians as the key factor in defining success, with 37% selecting this as the top marker, followed by health and wellbeing , and life balance.
Financial security is also seen the top driver of happiness at 43%.
In terms of economic concerns, cost-of-living swamped the results even more. The cost of living is the top economic concern at 94%, with Pollinate noting that “household income” was mentioned by 83% of respondents, and “affordable housing” by 82%.
Pollinate’s CEO, Howard Parry-Husbands notes “major concerns over the cost of living, the economy and our political system” all seem to be rising at once.
“Interestingly, where people tended to trade off their concerns and only focus on one main issue, since the pandemic in 2019 we’re seeing all concerns rise together as people worry about everything at the same time and lose faith in the system at large,” Parry-Husbands explains.
“In the face of all of this, our younger generations, Gen Z in particular, contain the most optimists, yet all generations are outnumbered by pessimists.
“Happiness for Australians has been quite stable across the past decade but it is in a gradual decline. The real test will be how long this happiness lasts before it starts declining.”
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