Victoria in a state of real anxiety as stage 4 lockdown kicks in
As Victoria’s second wave of coronavirus sees personal and economic worries begin to soar again, tired and frustrated Victorians are struggling, with a third saying they are living in a constant state of anxiety and stress over personal and family worries and fears for the community.
VIC News
Don't miss out on the headlines from VIC News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Victoria’s second wave has sparked alarm across the country with personal and economic worries returning to levels not seen since the beginning of the pandemic.
The latest study by Bastion Insights has found tired and frustrated Victorians are faring the worst with one third reporting living in a constant state of anxiety.
They reported a sharp rise in anxiety, nervousness, restlessness and feelings that everything was an effort over the past fortnight.
Personal and family worries, and concern for the health of the community have returned to levels similar to peaks recorded at the beginning of the crisis.
Almost 70 per cent of Australians are concerned about the health of the community, up 10 percentage points from last month.
Economic concern also increased significantly this wave with 76 per cent of Australians stating they are concerned about the economy, up five percentage points since a month ago.
Fewer and fewer Australians have no concerns; only 22 per cent.
A quarter of those surveyed said they were fairly or extremely worried about the financial impact of the pandemic, with one in 10 people reporting pawning or selling goods to make ends meet.
Dianne Gardiner, social research commentator and Bastion Insights chief executive, said the situation had changed dramatically across the nation since one month ago.
“As the rest of the nation tries to avoid the second wave that has taken hold in Victoria, we see a truly divided nation; those with freedom but distant concern, versus those in lockdown feeling the weight of a nation on their shoulders.”
The second wave has rocked the confidence of Victorians, with just one in three believing we can control coronavirus spikes in the future.
Just 54 per cent surveyed on Monday though the Andrews Government’s response had been good or excellent – down from 73 per cent on June 16.
It was the worst rating of any state, compared with 81 per cent in WA, 77 in SA, 76 in QLD and 56 in NSW.
Victorians have also lost faith in each other with one quarter rating the community response to the pandemic as poor or very poor, more than double that of other states.
“What we are seeing is a loss of trust in those in control and those around us, and this results in a breakdown in the social fabric holding us together in times of crisis,” Ms Gardiner said.
“This is the greatest challenge at this time.”
Monash University political scientist Nick Economou said the real test for the Premier was still to come.
“Beware of these approval polls in times of crisis, the real test is the two party preferred test at an election,” he said.
“When a big crisis happens, whoever is the head of government inevitably dominates the news, has all the limelight, and their approval rating usually goes up.
“That doesn’t guarantee electoral success.”
Dr Economou drew a comparison to former premier John Brumby’s soaring approval ratings during the Black Saturday bush fires in 2009.
He subsequently lost the following election.
“Punters would have to be very mean spirited to say ‘this guy’s trying to solve a problem, but doing it badly’,” he said.
MORE NEWS
AGED CARE HOME PUT RESIDENTS’ LIVES AT RISK
PARTYING STUDENTS FLOUTING MASK BAN