What everyday Australians want political leaders to hear - ABC News & Headlines – Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The ABC has been hearing from people around Australia for Your Say. (ABC Graphics: Sharon Gordon)

Margaret* is a 61-year-old woman from Sydney who works hard to pay her rent and buy her groceries.

There is nothing extraordinary about her story. Her life is not exceptional. It is not news. That's the point.

But what she has to say — what she wants the political leaders in this country to hear — reflects what thousands of people across Australia have told ABC Your Say.

"I'm sure you already have lots of examples of people like [me]. Currently working two, sometimes three jobs. After rent is paid, I sometimes have $7 to live on for the coming fortnight. On a good fortnight I have a bit more and can pay off a bit of electricity and phone, buy panadol, tea and butter, and shout myself a coffee as a special treat.

"I honestly never thought that at 61years old I would be so frightened and despairing. I've had a great life and I am definitely one of the lucky ones. The future, however, is really grim."

For the past eight weeks, teams from across the ABC have been out and about across the country talking to people about what matters to them.

The issues people have raised with us are as diverse as this country is broad, but there is a consistent message that kept coming up.

Margaret asked us to protect her privacy for family reasons and because she is "embarrassed" by her situation. She was not alone.

Life feels hard and like it is getting harder. Many feel unheard by people in power and no longer trust those they elected to represent them to govern for them.

They want politicians and the media to listen.

We've heard from thousands of people online and spoken to hundreds more at weekend markets, sporting events, libraries, trivia nights, general stores and on footpaths as we've broadcast radio programs from street corners in country towns and regional cities.

Here are some of Australia's answers.

Tyson is in his 30s living in outer suburban Perth.

"My wife and I both have multiple degrees [including post-grads] each, and stable jobs. We earn approximately $200k [pre-tax] between us, and are quite frugal with our money. Neither of us have ever even owned a credit card and the only debt we have is a mortgage between us.

"Typically, I would argue that we should be doing pretty well for ourselves, and while the opposite is not true for us, we are struggling paycheque to paycheque. When did this become normal? When did having two reasonable incomes from white-collar jobs become not enough?"

Sarah, a mum of three in her late 40s, is battling to make ends meet in suburban Melbourne.

"We are a family of five, a couple and 3 kids. Husband has his own small business and I work for government. Being in Melbourne, COVID lockdowns ruined our business and [we] haven't been able to build it back up.

"Six years later our mortgage is huge, we can't afford to do anything on weekends or go on any holidays or buy any clothes, and we can barely make payment of bills and mortgage and to buy groceries. We are building up debts left, right and centre.

"[I] am fully aware our problems pale in significance to others. Just making the point that it definitely feels like things have changed for the worse."

The stories we've heard have been thoughtful, funny, heartbreaking and inspiring.

The most dominant issues that people have wanted to talk about have been housing and the cost of living.

Across every location and every demographic group, the worry about where people are going to live is top of mind. The cost of housing, rental insecurity, homelessness, downsizing and the impact on social cohesion and community connection have dominated conversations and online submissions.

But people have told us the cost is more than financial.

Rosie* is in her 30s and lives in Canberra. She captured the point vividly.

"Housing gets covered as deposits, rates, supply. Living it, the real cost is time. You work the hours the housing demands, in the suburb the housing pushed you to, and what gets sacrificed is the ability to sit down with the people around you.

"Multiculturalism worked in this country when people had time to spend with people unlike themselves. Not policy time — ordinary time. Backyards, front steps, sport, the shops, someone's kitchen. That's how a stranger stops being a category and becomes a neighbour.

"We have spent 30 years pricing that time out of people's lives and now we're surprised that cohesion is fraying and asking what went wrong with our values.

"When people are exhausted and stretched and never in the same room, difference stops being interesting and starts being threatening. That's not a failure of tolerance. It's a failure of time. That's what I'd want people in power to understand."

This loss of community connection was a strong theme that emerged from ABC Your Say.

Mixed into this conversation was an extremely potent topic about the reliance on technology and the loss of human interaction.

Our story on digital exclusion hit a nerve with many people who are frustrated with the complexity of life when everything requires a log-in (with long-forgotten passwords), or email or an app.

Other issues that are keeping people awake at night ranged from concern over international events in Gaza, Iran and our relationship with the USA to frustration over access to health care, climate change and the impact on the environment.

The state of our roads and transport, poor infrastructure planning, education standards and teacher burnout, domestic violence, crime and AI were also prominent issues.

While there was some commonality of concerns, each person has a unique perspective and many offered quite specific examples and solutions.

But one unifying theme was the persistent and consistent ask that our political leaders "do better", as well as frustration at the perception of self-interest.

Despite the worries, people remain hopeful and grateful about life in Australia. Even those facing hardships were at pains to point out how fortunate they feel to live here.

Mitch, a young man from Sydney, provided insight from his generation.

"It is so easy to be ungrateful, to believe that everything is getting worse, and that things would be better if this or that was different. 

"This negativity really distracts from the good, how much equality has improved, how the rare conflicts we have are so far removed from the mass bombings and millions of deaths in a war, and how as confusing and ridiculous as politics is, it at least works in a way that stops Australia from completely falling apart."

ABC Your Say has given us a powerful insight into the lives of the extraordinary "ordinary people" that call Australia home.

It has inspired our journalism and made us question our assumptions.

We will continue to listen to what you want to tell us, but it's appropriate that the last word goes to one of our ABC Your Say contributors, Chrissy Wilson of Boorloo, Perth, in Western Australia.

Chrissy Wilson wonders how we harness growing awareness and turn it into constructive action. (ABC Graphics: Sharon Gordon/Supplied: Chrissy Wilson)

"It feels like much of the public conversation right now is dominated by fear, frustration and a sense that things are getting worse — cost-of-living pressures, housing challenges, distrust in institutions and concerns about the future.

"But I wonder if part of what we are experiencing is not simply decline, but an awakening. Rather than seeing this awareness as a reason for despair, perhaps it is an opportunity.

"Throughout history, meaningful change has often come when communities have come together, shared their experiences and imagined different possibilities.

"Local communities are already creating solutions — supporting each other, building connection, caring for the vulnerable, creating new models of participation and finding ways to respond to challenges that large systems alone cannot solve.

"The question I want to explore is: how do we harness this growing awareness and turn it into constructive action?

"How can governments, organisations and communities work together in ways that value lived experience, local knowledge and grassroots innovation?

"Perhaps this moment of uncertainty is also a moment of possibility — an opportunity for communities to reconnect, collaborate and build the future they want to see."

Want to have your say? Go to www.abc.net.au/yoursay