Older Australians are sometimes stereotyped as being anti-immigration, but a new survey reveals that view is apparently outdated.
According to the study, more older Australians now see immigration as good for the country, and support for that viewpoint has risen sharply during the past five years.
The revelations come as part of the 2022 Mapping Cohesion Report released last week, prepared by Dr James O’Donnell for the Scanlon Foundation Research Institute (SFRI), which conducts research into social cohesion, multiculturalism and related factors in Australia.
In a section of the report titled, Immigration and multiculturalism, O’Donnell revealed that: “Australians have a high and growing level of support for ethnic diversity and multiculturalism”.
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This is supported by data that indicates a sharp rise in the proportion of people who agree that accepting immigrants from many different countries makes Australia stronger, from 63 per cent in 2018 up to 78 per cent in 2022.
In addition, 88 per cent of respondents believed that multiculturalism has been good for Australia (up from 77 per cent in 2018), and 86 per cent think immigrants improve Australian society by bringing new ideas and cultures, compared to 76 per cent four years earlier.
According to Dr O’Donnell, an even sharper change in attitudes has been evident in Australians aged over 65.
“Among over 65s, while 46 per cent agreed ‘immigrants from different countries make Australia stronger’ in 2018, the percentage increased to 74 per cent in 2022,” he says.
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Speculating on the reasons for the increase, Dr O’Donnell said: “It may be that older people are simply having more experience of people from different backgrounds. There has also been a big increase in acceptance of immigration as a positive in regional areas, which generally have a higher proportion of older people. This may be a consequence of growing cultural diversity in these regions.”
While the report suggests a positive change in older Australians’ attitudes towards immigration, some other more concerning trends were also revealed.
The report showed that 52 per cent of Australians feel a “great sense of belonging in Australia” in 2022, which is actually down from a figure of 63 per cent recorded at the height of the pandemic in 2020.
In addition, the proportion of people who take “great pride in the Australian way of life and culture”, which was measured as 48 per cent in 2020, has declined to just 37 per cent this year.
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Dr O’Donnell suggests that the drop might be a function of the higher cost of living now dogging Australians.
“People who are financially struggling and pessimistic about the future report substantially lower levels of national pride and belonging, happiness and social inclusion,” he said.
Economic and social and inequalities that arise from a difficult economic climate can in turn drag down overall social cohesion, according to Dr O’Donnell. His report claims the number of Australians who reported being dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their financial situation has risen from 29 per cent in 2021 to 35 per cent – more than one in three – in 2022.
The full report, which also deals with other attitudinal topics such as trust in government, along with discrimination and prejudice, is available through the SFRI website.
Have you changed your attitude to immigration in recent years? What factors have been involved? Why not share your thoughts in the comments section below?
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We’ve had lots of wonderful immigrants in the past, but now, when we can’t house so many of our people already here, bringing more in en masse is not wise, though a few skilled migrants are thankfully welcomed!
I for one am so happy with immigration, bring more on! I arrived 1968 with nothing, contributed 2 taxpayers! Love there diversity here! Food and culture would not be what it is now! They pay taxes like I do. Where is problem?
The only problem I have with some immigrants is that the people should employ the Aussie way of life. I don’t believe women should be forced to wear clothing that covers their whole body. These women should have the choice of apparel as they are in a FREE country now. This should happen regardless of religion.
I suspect that Dr O’Donnell may have underestimated the effect of the popular media’s far-right wing political rhetoric on his survey results.
I would feel very uncomfortable saying that I was “proud of my country” for fear of being mistaken for one of those people who are anti-immigration amongst other things.
But … perhaps this is just me … I have never understood the concept of national pride. My feeling is that all humans on earth have merits and skills, and to have a viewpoint of “pride” or “not pride” on where they had the luck to be born is just so strange to me.