ABC Your Say invites people across the country to tell us what you think

Suleiman Zandinan does not stop to think about this question.

What does being Australian mean to you?

“Proud. Amazing. Freedom. Supportive. Happiness. Perfection,” she said.

The words flow easily and with enthusiasm.

“I’m so proud and lucky to be here,” he said. “I live in this amazing country.

As it is known, Sully is 23 years old. He arrived in Australia as a refugee at the age of 15 and settled in the regional town of Toowoomba in Queensland’s Darling Downs.

He is not one of the many people in Australia who have lost hope in life, politics or are afraid of the future.

Sully is not among the 6.22 in 10 Australians who said their life satisfaction had fallen in a recent survey, or the three in five Australians who thought life was better 50 years ago.

Having endured terrible hardship and suffering, Sully and many others like him are grateful that Australia has embraced and loved them.

But many people in Australia don’t feel the same way.

They are anxious about the future and feel like their daily struggles are not being heard by the people making decisions that affect their lives.

The ABC is launching a new project called ABC Your Say to give people from across the country the chance to voice the issues, challenges and opportunities shaping their communities.

We want you, the viewer, to be part of the national conversation and tell us what’s most important to you. For eight weeks, from July 19 to September 12, we will invite people across the country to have “Your Say.”

You can submit written submissions to Your Say — ABC News here.

An uneasy nation

Australians are restless. Support for One Nation is shifting the pendulum as people disillusioned with governments and mainstream political parties turn to alternatives.

For some, crushed by cost-of-living pressures, without places to rent and priced out of the property market, hope is waning and anger is rising.

A survey by the Australian National University (ANU) in March this year found that life satisfaction was at its lowest level since the survey first began in 2019. Additionally, more Australians who responded to the survey questions were dissatisfied with the direction of the country (54 percent) than satisfied (46 percent).

But that wasn’t the case for immigrants like Sully, who were born in non-English-speaking countries, according to the study.

The ANU survey found that despite facing greater economic vulnerability, this group reported more positive orientations towards Australia on almost every attitude measure.

Sully loves the community of Toowoomba, 150 kilometers west of Brisbane. It is Australia’s second largest inland city, and the second most spoken language after English is Kurdish Kurmanji, a traditional Yazidi dialect.

The family of Sully, a Yazidi from northern Iraq, was captured by the Islamic State group in 2014 and imprisoned for two years. He was only 12 years old. They escaped in 2016 and lived in a refugee camp for two years before coming to Australia and settling in Toowoomba.

Since he had no English, he studied hard at Harristown State High School. Embracing a lifelong love of football, he is currently a qualified referee in the men’s Queensland National Premier League. And he returned to his old school, where students come from more than 40 countries and where 29 percent are learning English as an Additional Language or Polish (EAL/D).

hopeful for the future

Another finding of the ANU survey is that, contrary to some narratives, young Australians are not disconnected from democracy or intolerant of opposing views. The survey found that 18 to 24-year-olds were the most satisfied with democracy, and those with extreme views were more likely to support public speaking rights.

Jeffy Thomas is a 20-year-old nursing student at the University of Southern Queensland. Far from remaining disconnected, he will soon be heading to the Queensland Youth Parliament programme.

He is optimistic about the future.

“I’ve seen really ambitious young people around me with really strong views, and I’m really hopeful for the future because I’m confident that if people like them get involved in society, we’ll have better days, better laws, and things that we haven’t really considered will be achieved,” he said.

When asked what needed to be fixed, Ms Thomas said mental health was an area that needed attention and was often overlooked, especially for children.

“More funding would be great, especially in regional communities… it is harder for everyone of all ages to access these types of services,” he said.

‘Not stupid’

ABC Your Say invites people from across the country to be part of the conversation.

Wendy and Brian Newman are a retired couple in their 70s. They live in a house they built in the small western Queensland town of Surat, on the Great Inland Way, 450 km west of Brisbane.

Wendy is disturbed by the way those in power talk about those in the forest.

“When talking about anything to do with rural or regional Australia, [they] “You tend to talk about people as if they’re backwards, slow, country bumpkins who don’t know anything, you don’t pay attention to them because they don’t really know what they’re talking about,” he said.

Ms. Newman has a background in teaching, has worked in the field of autism and spent 10 years as a local councilor on the Maranoa Council.

Her husband was a fencer.

“Them [country people are] not stupid. They are not stupid. And yes, they know what they are talking about when they talk about topics like managing our environment, but they are not being listened to. And they are deliberately disparaged by many political parties when it suits them,” Ms. Newman said.

And back to Sully for his quote.

“My advice to people is never give up… be patient, be kind to others, be respectful, take responsibility for what you do. Life is hard. You have to work hard for it. Keep fighting for your dreams and goals.”

to you for your opinion.