Divided by age on national priorities

A new survey finds under-30s have very different priorities when it come to what Australia should aspire to and where it can be doing better.

Under 30s are more optimistic about how Australia is faring and where it is headed into the future. Picture: iStock

A generational schism has opened up over what Australia should aspire to and how it could be doing better.

The under 30s are more concerned about whether Australia is respecting First Nations culture and supporting disadvantaged groups than those older, a new study shows.

And they prioritise being able to respectfully talk out disagreements more than older Australians, the inaugural Next25 Navigator Social Research Report published on Wednesday finds. They are less concerned about issues of personal privacy or whether Australia is self-­sufficient.

Overall, the under 30s are more optimistic about how Australia is faring and where it is headed into the future, the survey of more than 2800 Australians concludes.

The study by the Next25 group, formerly the Australian Futures Project, creates a new Public Interest Index that assesses how the public rates the performance of its national institutions: politicians, public service, business, NGOs, media and experts/academia.

The overall index score of 31/100 is low, the report says, dragged down by politicians who rate just 22/100. “(And) only 26 per cent of Australians believe the public service acts in the public interest,” it says.

“For a world-leading democracy, this is a major problem.”

The study asks participants to rank both their aspirations for the country and the performance of the nation’s institutions in meeting them.

“Access to quality healthcare” is the top-ranked aspiration (of 39) for all Australians, including the under 30s.

But the under 30s prioritise freedoms in their top 10, including ranking “freedom to pursue whatever makes you happy” at five compared to 11th for the broader public, and “freedom to practice your beliefs” at eight compared to 27th overall.

The all-ages list has an emphasis on responsibility and self-­sufficiency, with “respecting and maintaining the rule of law” ranking at seven overall but 21st for the under 30s. “Australia being self-sufficient” ranks at nine nationally but 19th for the younger cohort.

It is on questions about where Australia could be doing better that significant generational differences emerge. The under 30s rank “respecting First Nations heritage and culture in everyday life” at six in their list of poorest tracking aspirations, while the national ranking is 32.

Younger people also rank caring for the environment second on their “must do better” list, but it fell outside the top 10 overall.