Huge way Covid has changed us

Aussies are renowned for our generally relaxed and happy outlook on life - but a new survey has shown just how depressed the national mood has become.

Optimism in Australia’s future has crashed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, exclusive new polling for News Corp has found.

Forty per cent of respondents to the nationwide YouGov survey of 2297 people, conducted between December 27 and January 10, said they were now less optimistic about Australia’s future than they were pre-pandemic.

The grim outlook was felt more strongly by women (44 per cent) than men (37 per cent), although the sentiment was shared fairly even between the generations.

The souring mood was most pronounced in Tasmania, where 51 per cent of respondents said they were less optimistic about Australia’s future than they were two years ago, followed by Victoria (44 per cent), South Australia (42 per cent) and NSW (40 per cent).

The states with the toughest Covid-19 border controls had the lowest levels of pessimism. In Queensland, 36 per cent of people surveyed said they were feeling less positive about the future and in WA it was 35 per cent.

Nationally, 48 per cent of respondents said they felt the same about Australia’s future as they did before the pandemic, and a remarkably resilient 11 per cent of the population said they actually felt more optimistic.

YouGov’s Head of Public Affairs and Polling Dr Campbell White said a question about Australia’s future asked one year ago might have elicited a more optimistic response, but the Omicron wave of Covid-19 had dashed a lot of hopes.

“We’ve had several points throughout this pandemic where it looked like we were on the way out, but events have thrust us back into the mire, if you will,” he said.

“The more that happens, people just start feeling less confident in the future, and I think that’s what’s happened.”

Dr Campbell White from YouGov. Picture: Supplied

Australian National University politics expert Dr Jill Sheppard. Picture: ANU

ANU political scientist Dr Jill Sheppard said the feelings of pessimism could play a role in this year’s federal election, and were therefore “a real challenge for the government”.

“(They) have to convince voters that not only have they done an OK job, a passable job at managing Covid in Australia, but things really are going to get better, and given how tired Australian voters are of this pandemic, I think there needs to be that optimism. And while it doesn’t exist, the government has a lot of work on its hands,” she said.

CommSec Chief Economist Craig James. Picture: Justin Brierty

CommSec Chief Economist Craig James said the feelings of pessimism could feed into lower consumer spending.

Two reports out last week showed consumer confidence was down, Mr James said, but a number of retailers including JB Hi-Fi and Mosaic Brands (which owns the Katie’s, Rockmans and Noni B fashion labels) had recently revealed strong growth in online sales.

Despite the feelings of gloom, Australia’s economic fundamentals were still strong, Mr James said, with record low unemployment in some areas, low interest rates, low inflation and signs of strength in the construction sector.

But asked whether Australia could expect a snap back or a slow rebuild to economic confidence, Mr James said it would take a while.

“If you asked me two years ago I would have said we’d get a snap back and everything will be fine, but of course Delta has been a game changer, Omicron has been a game changer … and we don’t know what sort of variant we’re going to get after this,” he said.

Originally published as Huge way Covid has changed us