Australians speak: save our jobs, mental health

Australians are more worried about job losses and their mental health than they are about a large breakout of Covid-19 cases and deaths.

A woman walks across Bourke Street in the Melbourne CBD on Monday. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Australians are more worried about job losses and their mental health than they are about a large breakout of Covid-19 cases and deaths, according to a landmark survey that reveals sharply changing attitudes to lockdowns and the pandemic.

The poll also finds strong support for keeping schools open ­during lockdowns amid growing fears that children in Victoria and NSW are suffering long-term harm to their education.

The survey, by YouGov, conducted exclusively for News Corp Australia between August 20 to 25, found that two in three Australians believe vaccinations are the pathway back to normal life, with just 22 per cent believing that lockdowns must continue until Covid cases reach zero.

It revealed a growing frustration with lockdowns, with one third of people calling for them either to end immediately or when everyone who wants a vaccination has had the chance to get one, while 50 per cent said they wanted lockdowns to end when 80 per cent of the eligible population was fully vaccinated.

The findings, which come at a time when 60 per cent of Australians are under some form of Covid-19 lockdown, will increase pressure on premiers to strike a better balance between public health and freedoms as the ­number of vaccinated Australians grows. It also comes as premiers are being urged to stick to the agreed national plan to a series of reductions in restrictions when 70 per cent and 80 per cent of the eligible population are fully ­vaccinated.

The survey reveals the growing emotional and financial pressure faced by Australians in the pandemic, especially in the locked down states of NSW and Victoria.

The YouGov survey found that 35 per cent of Australians said they were worse off financially in the past three months rising to 39 per cent in NSW and Victoria. Just 11 per cent of people said they were better off.

The findings were even more bleak when it came to mental health, with 44 per cent saying they were emotionally worse off during the past three months compared with just 7 per cent who said they were better off.

In NSW and Victoria, more than half (53 per cent and 54 per cent respectively) said they were emotionally worse off. Young Australians aged 18 to 35 were the most likely to say they were suffering emotionally.

Almost half of respondents said they knew personally of people whose mental health had suffered due to lockdowns. About one-third said they knew of people who had postponed health checks such as mammograms because of ­lockdowns.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian last week announced an ­easing of restrictions on social gatherings next month, despite the soaring number of Covid-19 cases in her state, in recognition of the toll that the prolonged shutdown was having on mental health.

By contrast, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has so far refused to soften his state’s lockdown, ­including harsh measures such as closing playgrounds, despite ­widespread reports of a growing mental health crisis among young Victorians.

Ms Berejiklian has said mass vaccination is the only way that people in NSW will regain their freedoms, while Mr Andrews is still pursuing a zero-Covid strategy while urging people to get vaccinated.

Other premiers such as Western Australia’s Mark McGowan and Queensland’s Annastacia Palaszczuk have warned that they may still restrict travel and order lockdowns to prevent Covid entering their state even after national vaccination targets have been met.

The YouGov survey found that mental health and financial concerns have eclipsed fears of Covid-19 itself. When asked what their greatest fear was, respondents ranked business closures and jobs as number one (58 per cent) followed by the impact on mental health (56 per cent) and then Covid-19 cases and deaths (51 per cent) just ahead of a lack of contact with family and friends (50 per cent).

The survey revealed strong support for children going back to school in lockdown states, a growing issue amid concerns about the long-term impact on the education and socialisation of school age children. Schools remain shut in NSW, Victoria and the ACT. School children in Victoria have had almost eight months of home schooling since the start of the pandemic.

The survey found that more than half of parents – 52 per cent – believe homeschooling will have a long-term negative impact on their children’s education. Almost 60 per cent believe schools should remain open if staff are vaccinated, with 14 per cent wanting them open regardless of whether teachers are vaccinated.