Australian social cohesion at record-low as opposition to immigration grows: report

SYDNEY, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) — The number of Australians who say that the country’s migrant intake is too high has spiked as social cohesion remains at a record low, according to an annual survey published on Tuesday.
The 2024 Mapping Social Cohesion report, published by NGO The Scanlon Foundation Research Institute, found that 49 percent of Australians believe the number of immigrants coming into the country is too high, up from 33 percent in 2023.
However, it found that 85 percent of participants believe that multiculturalism has been good for Australia, 82 percent agree migrants are good for the economy, and 83 percent do not believe migrants should be rejected based on ethnicity or race.
The report assessed Australia’s social cohesion by surveying nearly 8,000 respondents on 100 indicators relating to five social cohesion measures: sense of belonging, sense of worth, social inclusion and justice, political participation and acceptance and rejection.
The 2024 overall social cohesion index score was 78, the equal-lowest with 2023 since the survey began in 2007.
Social cohesion was at a record-high 101 in 2009 and 89 in 2020.
The report, produced in conjunction with the Australian Multicultural Foundation and the Australian National University, attributed the decline to financial strain and global conflicts.
“Australians’ sense of belonging and social justice are significantly below their long-term averages, while economic and cost of living pressures contribute to stubbornly high financial dissatisfaction and stress,” the report said.
“Acceptance of Australia’s diversity and multicultural harmony is also strained by the experience of discrimination and mistreatment,” it added.
Political participation was the only one of the five measures with a higher score in 2024 than in 2023.
Australians’ sense of social inclusion and justice was three points lower in 2024 than 2023 and 38 points lower than 2009.
Forty-seven percent of participants in the 2024 survey said they have a sense of belonging in Australia to a great extent – down from 77 percent in 2007 – and 40 percent said they take great pride in the Australian way of life and culture compared to 65 percent in 2007. ■