[Music] 2020 was a difficult year for australia and the world off the back of our most devastating bushfire season in history the coronavirus became a major problem for australia in march with it came lockdowns border closures and mass job losses so what happened to our social cohesion during this time did we come together or did we fracture and after months of coronavirus restrictions how were australians feeling about the future since 2007 the scanlan mapping social cohesion research has been tracking public opinion on social cohesion immigration and population issues with two waves of the survey undertaken in 2020 the first in july and the second in november results provide a unique means of measuring how australian attitudes were impacted in a year characterized by crisis let's take a look at five key findings outlined in the 2020 mapping social cohesion report [Music] covert 19 led to a dramatic change in priorities in 2020 in july 63 of respondents nominated it as the most important problem facing australia outranking any other issue by far yet australians remained largely positive and optimistic about the future in july 74 of respondents agreed that australia is a land of economic opportunity where in the long run hard work brings a better life slightly more than in 2018 and 2019. 70 were optimistic about australia's future at 92 percent felt a sense of belonging in australia to a great or moderate extent at the neighborhood level 84 in july and 88 in november indicated that in their local area conditions of life were either better or unchanged in 2020 higher than in the previous two years an increased proportion also agreed that people were willing to help their neighbours [Music] on questions of social justice and democracy 2020 findings point to a widely held view that australian governments have successfully managed the pandemic and signs of economic recovery despite 28 of respondents indicating their employment had been halted or scaled back in 2020 65 of all respondents reported living comfortably up since 2018 and 2019. similarly an increased proportion was satisfied with their present financial situation back in 2018 just 57 of respondents thought australia's system of government worked well or needed only minor change by november 2020 that figure had risen to 72 percent trust in the federal government to do the right thing also leaped to 54 in 2020 arresting a decade-long pattern of low levels of trust in the range of 26 to 36 in both july and november a resounding 85 percent felt the federal government was responding to the pandemic well in western australia south australia and queensland more than 90 of residents supported their state government's handling of the crisis for more than a decade the scanlan surveys have found consistently strong levels of endorsement of immigration and multiculturalism and this remained in 2020 with australia's international borders closed a substantial majority 72 still considered that globalization was good for the nation only marginally less than in the previous two years on trade with other nations a combined 70 favored either more or about the same level while 29 favored less 84 of respondents in 2020 believed multiculturalism had been good for australia slightly higher than in 2018 and 2019. in line with previous surveys however a lower 36 percent agreed that ethnic minorities in australia should be given government assistance to maintain their customs and traditions a new question in 2020 posed openness to immigrants in different terms asking if someone born outside of australia was just as likely to be a good citizen as someone born here a very high 90 percent indicated agreement alongside largely positive findings on multiculturalism the 2020 surveys did find evidence of negative opinion towards australians of asian african and middle eastern background and of high levels of concern within the asian australian population reported experience of discrimination was much higher among respondents born in an asian country compared to those born in australia though figures for neither cohort shifted significantly in 2020 asian australians were also significantly more likely to view racism in australia during the covet 19 pandemic as a problem analysis of specific population segments highlights how attitudes to key social cohesion issues vary across the community those whose employment arrangements were impacted in 2020 for example were significantly more likely to be pessimistic about australia's future compared to those whose employment had continued as normal the survey also found evidence of young people bearing disproportionate economic costs in the labour market with 18 of those aged 18 to 24 having lost their job compared to just six percent of people aged 25 to 34. this younger cohort was more likely to disagree that those on low incomes receive enough financial support from the government but more supportive of multiculturalism compared to other age groups offering a detailed look at australian public opinion during the first nine months of the pandemic the substantially positive attitudes outlined in the 2020 mapping social cohesion report although not without qualification provide evidence of a strong cohesive and resilient society download the full report at scanlaninstitute.org.eu or join the conversation at hashtag social cohesion report [Music] you