Margaret* is a 61-year-old woman from Sydney who works hard to pay her rent and buy her groceries.
asserted
who → work → groceries
But what she has to say — what she wants the political leaders in this country to hear — reflects what thousands of people across Australia have told ABC Your Say.
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thousands → say → Say
"I'm sure you already have lots of examples of people like [me].
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you → have → me
After rent is paid, I sometimes have $7 to live on for the coming fortnight.
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I → pay → fortnight
On a good fortnight I have a bit more and can pay off a bit of electricity and phone, buy panadol, tea and butter, and shout myself a coffee as a special treat.
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I → have → treat
"I honestly never thought that at 61years old I would be so frightened and despairing.
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I → think → 61years
I've had a great life and I am definitely one of the lucky ones.
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I → have → ones
For the past eight weeks, teams from across the ABC have been out and about across the country talking to people about what matters to them.
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what → talk → them
The issues people have raised with us are as diverse as this country is broad, but there is a consistent message that kept coming up.
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that → raise → us
Margaret asked us to protect her privacy for family reasons and because she is "embarrassed" by her situation.
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she → ask → situation
Life feels hard and like it is getting harder.
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it → feel → ?
Many feel unheard by people in power and no longer trust those they elected to represent them to govern for them.
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they → feel → them
They want politicians and the media to listen.
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politicians → want → ?
We've heard from thousands of people online and spoken to hundreds more at weekend markets, sporting events, libraries, trivia nights, general stores and on footpaths as we've broadcast radio programs from street corners in country towns and regional cities.
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we → hear → towns
ABC Your Say has reached deep into communities across Australia to ask three questions:
- What matters to you?
- What do you wish people in power understood more about your daily life?
- What do you love about where you live but what needs to be better?
Here are some of Australia's answers.
The man whose good job is no longer enough
Tyson is in his 30s living in outer suburban Perth.
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job → reach → Perth
"My wife and I both have multiple degrees [including post-grads] each, and stable jobs.
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wife → have → grads
We earn approximately $200k [pre-tax] between us, and are quite frugal with our money.
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We → earn → money
Neither of us have ever even owned a credit card and the only debt we have is a mortgage between us.
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we → own → us
"Typically, I would argue that we should be doing pretty well for ourselves,
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we → argue → ourselves
while the opposite is not true for us, we are struggling paycheque to paycheque.
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we → struggle → paycheque
When did this become normal?
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this → become → ?
When did having two reasonable incomes from white-collar jobs become not enough?"
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having → have → jobs
The mother still rebuilding after COVID-19
Sarah, a mum of three in her late 40s, is battling to make ends meet in suburban Melbourne.
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ends → rebuild → Melbourne
Husband has his own small business and I work for government.
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I → have → government
Being in Melbourne, COVID lockdowns ruined our business and [we] haven't been able to build it back up.
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we → ruin → it
"Six years later our mortgage is huge, we can't afford to do anything on weekends or go on any holidays or buy any clothes, and we can barely make payment of bills and mortgage and to buy groceries.
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we → afford → groceries
We are building up debts left, right and centre.
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We → build → debts
"[I] am fully aware our problems pale in significance to others.
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problems → pale → others
Just making the point that it definitely feels like things have changed for the worse.
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things → make → worse
The stories we've heard have been thoughtful, funny, heartbreaking and inspiring.
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we → hear → ?
The most dominant issues that people have wanted to talk about have been housing and the cost of living.
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people → want → living
Across every location and every demographic group, the worry about where people are going to live is top of mind.
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people → go → mind
The cost of housing, rental insecurity, homelessness, downsizing and the impact on social cohesion and community connection have dominated conversations and online submissions.
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cost → dominate → conversations
But people have told us the cost is more than financial.
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cost → tell → us
The woman who feels priced out of spare time
Rosie* is in her 30s and lives in Canberra.
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who → price → Canberra
She captured the point vividly.
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She → capture → point
"Housing gets covered as deposits, rates, supply.
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Housing → cover → deposits
Living it, the real cost is time.
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cost → live → it
You work the hours the housing demands, in the suburb the housing pushed you to, and what gets sacrificed
asserted
what → work → you
"Multiculturalism worked in this country when people had time to spend with people unlike themselves.
asserted
people → work → themselves
…and 25 more, not listed.
The Aporia