There’s a lot of different ethnicities and different cultures contributing to our… GDP. But… I would say we need to decrease immigration just because… unemployed people are competing with immigrants for job positions… [And] that … just lowers the quality of life for the average Australian.

Political activism is integral to democracy, as it reflects an engaged citizenry, and people prepared to fight for what they believe in to enact and realise change. But increased political activism in recent years has also been a symptom of divisions and dissatisfaction in government and society, including with respect to violence in the Middle East and violence against women in Australian communities.

While it may have been expected that slowing growth in inflation and interest rate rises in 2024 would bring financial relief, they have in fact been accompanied by a slowing economy and declining real incomes throughout the year. With financial wellbeing one of the factors most strongly associated with the sense of belonging people have in Australia and their sense of social justice in society, these ongoing economic challenges have continued to weigh down Australia’s social cohesion in 2024.

Men and women who feel most unsafe are much less likely to trust other people, feel a weaker sense of belonging in Australia and in their neighbourhoods, are more likely to feel socially isolated, and more likely to have negative attitudes to religious faiths other than their own – indicating that concern for safety is closely related to social cohesion.