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Australia is becoming an increasingly lonely place, so much so that one party is turning it into an election issue. Social isolation affects one in ten Australians, while one in six experience periods of emotional loneliness. As the Australian population gets older, rates of social isolation are expected to increase.
In Victoria, one political party thinks the problem is so severe it requires government involvement with it. Fiona Patten, the upper house MP, has proposed that Victoria introduce a minister for loneliness to work across health, infrastructure, justice and communities portfolios, and handle what experts say is becoming a growing health problem.
Scarce public transport options, a lack of support for people with disabilities to engage in community events and satellite suburbs that force long commutes and leave little time for socialisation have all been identified as possible structural triggers. “We know that everyone is at risk of loneliness in periods of life transition,” says Tegan Cruwys, a psychological research fellow at Australian National University. “Whether that’s moving to university, becoming a mum, retiring from the workforce, changing jobs, moving cities. If you were someone who experienced loneliness during life transitions, that has less to do with you and much more to do with the world in which you are living.”
Kevin O’Neill is 56 and divorced in his early 40s. He says the transition from living with a wife and kids to living alone was tough. Things improved when he moved back to Keilor in Melbourne’s northern suburbs and reconnected with friends he grew up with.
Avril Hannah-Jones, a Uniting Church minister, is also considering the risks associated with that transition. “At the moment the time I spend alone is by choice, and is a relaxation from a very people-oriented job,” she says. “Maybe in retirement, if being alone is no longer by choice, I’ll feel more lonely.”
Brook says retirees can protect against the health risks of loneliness by joining one or two community groups or volunteer communities. “If you’re 65 and you retire and you just sort of potter around the house … your chances of dying within six years are 12% – that’s an early death,” she says. “If you retire at 65 and you join one interest group ... choir, knitting, woodworking, men’s shed, anything, your chances of dying in that six years has reduced by half.”
The risk of an early death decreases with every group or meaningful activity you join. “I think that’s a really profoundly simple but profoundly powerful message of optimism about this issue.” Cruwys says the social risk of retirement should be discussed and planned for as openly as the financial risks. There is a demonstrated connection between being financially strained, such as living on welfare or the pension, and an increased sense of isolation. “Staying connected costs money, so more financial aids should be provided, ” she says.
‘Loneliness minister’ proposed to handle Australian social isolation | |
| Introduction to the problem | ♦ Ten percent of Australians are affected by social isolation, while a higher ♦ With the Australian population ♦ The ♦ Fiona Patten has advised that Victoria introduce a minister for loneliness to handle the growing health problem. |
| Causes of the problem | ♦ Inconvenient ♦ Everyone is most likely to feel lonely when their life changes from one state to another. ♦ Loneliness has more to do with the world where one is living than with ♦ Being financially strained is connected with an increased sense of being |
| ♦ After ♦ Retirees will ♦ Offering financial aids to retirees is another way to | |
