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Cover Story Despite the optimistic hype of the new millennium, Australian society seems far from unified. Family, gender and job roles have undergone rapid change. National reconciliation appears a far-off dream. Recent political events have exposed a country split along economic, political and geographical lines. Where now for Australia? By Josie Gibson Wanted: one 'typical' Australian household -- mum, dad, kids, white, tertiary educated, own home, gainfully employed. Throw in pets and laptops for the kids and you have a snapshot of reality for some, an unattainable dream for others. Then there are those for whom such values are irrelevant. 'Typical' is in the eye of the beholder. It's a far cry from post-war Australia when historians say a stereotypical Aussie household did exist, sharing similar values with neighbours and looking forward to a bright and prosperous future.
And for students streaming out of IT courses, national borders have disappeared. "IT graduates have opportunities all over the world," Professor Rosenberg says. "They can work from anywhere. Many IT professionals now work from home -- or their beach house. This has added to quality of life." Yet for every story of success are others of marginalisation. Globalisation as epitomised by the IT revolution may have brought increased mobility and opportunities for some, but for others it has meant unemployment and even homelessness (see story on page 8). "There is a lack of recognition of the contribution rural Australia makes to feeding, clothing, lighting, warming and housing the urban population." Seismic political events in the last 12 months have exposed deep divisions and cynicism among Australians. The failed republic referendum and the Victorian State election, where the economically conservative incumbent was unceremoniously dumped, flagged deep discontent at the performance of politicians and the nature and pace of change.
"The degree of social differentiation is a key change, because it's a departure from the foundation ideals that we would be creating a classless society in which the state would play a major role in ensuring equality," Dr Birrell said. Since the centre's establishment six years ago, Dr Birrell and his colleagues have been tracking such changes using data from the census, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Health Insurance Commission, Centrelink, and other government departments and agencies. By interlinking population, education, welfare and vocational data, they have been able to develop, in effect, indicators of the state of the nation. Unlike much academic research, the centre's sometimes controversial findings are often published first in the mainstream media and thus find their way quickly into the public domain. "We value-add to the data using our expertise," Dr Birrell says. "We're trying to add new information to current debates about welfare in Australia." Welfare, in its bureaucratic sense, is a key area of study. These days, about 22 per cent of Australian families raising children are headed by a sole parent. Dr Birrell says that parent is most likely to be a woman who struggles to make ends meet in an increasingly user-pays society. One result of rapid social and economic change has been the creation of a pervasive sense of insecurity about the future. Monash research shows Australians are getting married later or eschewing nuptials altogether, and having fewer children. Of those becoming parents, it is usually the wealthier and better educated who delay child-bearing. Other research has shown that the higher a male's income and the more skilled the occupation, the more likely he is to be partnered. "Men who have missed the globalisation boat are losing out in other more intimate ways as well," Dr Birrell says. Falling birthrate Another manifestation of this insecurity is the country's falling birthrate. "A very important development of the last decade or so is the decline in fertility to well below replacement level," Dr Birrell says, an issue which raises complex questions about optimum immigration levels and how to care for an ageing population.
Yet the gulf between city and country is attitudinal as much as material, says social welfare lecturer Ms Marg Lynn, based at Monash's Gippsland campus. Rural Australians do their bit for the national good but feel let down by the rest of the country. "There is a lack of recognition of the contribution rural Australia makes to feeding, clothing, lighting, warming and housing the urban population," Ms Lynn says. How to unify and lead Australia through such a complex age is a dilemma for politicians, to whom Dr Birrell attributes much of the divisiveness. Successive governments have, he says, tried to have it both ways. Urging citizens to embrace globalisation, they have ignored, or at best failed to foresee and prepare for, the consequences. Growing political volatility shows Australians might be ready to assert more control over where government takes them and, by extension, what their nation becomes. "We're already starting to see a reaction,' Dr Birrell says. "Governments are going to be wrestling with this problem for the foreseeable future."
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