Edelman Trust Barometer: Australia more polarised than ever
Australia has seen a second major drop in trust in as many years, with 45% Australians saying that the nation is more divided than before according to Edelman’s 2023 Trust Barometer report findings.
The local surge in division reflects a global trend, and is locally so pervasive that 53% of Australians think the nation’s social fabric has become too weak to serve as a foundation for unity and common purpose.
The report was compiled from the responses of 32,000 respondents across 28 countries, collected between November 1 and 28 in 2022.
Presenting to a room full of communications professions at Sydney’s Carriageworks today, vice chair of Edelman APAC, Michelle Hutton, shared the localised findings, revealing a series of macro forces that are weakening the country’s social fabric and creating increasing division in society, including rising cost of living, declining trust, mass class divides and a battle for truth.
Of particular significance is a global drop in economic optimism, which is at an all-time-low in 24 of 28 countries, with only 30% of Australians indicating that they believed they and they family would be financially better off in 5 years (down 11%).
The report identified the rich and powerful as the major dividing force (72%) locally, followed by hostile foreign governments (69%), journalists (51%), and government leaders (49%), with business leaders (36%) seen as the least divisive.
Ideological division has contributed to 61% of Australians believing that “the lack of civility and mutual respect today is the worst they have ever seen”, which is evidenced by only 24% indicating they would help a person in need who strongly disagreed with their own strong view on a societal issue. Only 21% would be willing to live in the same neighborhood as someone whom they strong disagreed with, and only 19% would be willing to work alongside them.
CEO of Edelman Australia, Tom Robinson, said: “This year’s Barometer reveals that Australia is heading down an alarmingly divisive path, but there is still opportunity to correct course before we end up in severely polarised territory like some of our Western counterparts.”
“Distrust in government and media, combined with a lack of shared identity and fears around what the future might hold have led us to this place. As a direct result, business is under heightened pressure to lead the way back to unity and trust.”
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