The quality of
life we enjoy in Australia is ranked highly. There are a variety of
international measures that have been used in an attempt to quantify this
concept, including the Human Development Index, the Physical Quality of Life
Index, and most recently, the Happy Planet Index. What they have in common is
an agreement that perceptions about our quality of life are a reflection of the
general wellbeing of individuals and communities, rather than mere standard of
living indices based simply on financial status and income. Social factors underpinning
wellbeing include physical and mental health, education, job security,
recreation and leisure, family and community life and sustainable environments.
When governments
give primacy to economic indicators alone as a measure of success, with public
policy prioritising the need to reduce debt and produce a budget surplus, the
indicators that determine our quality of life are placed at risk. Every citizen, every family, every pensioner
knows we have to live within our means. We all understand the need to balance
income and expenditure. Whether at the level of the household or the state, we
know there are times we must cut out the
fat.
What brings
disquiet is the proposition of cutting to
the bone. Recent massive expenditure reductions in health and education in Queensland
have reduced capacity within these essential services and left thousands of
people unemployed. Cutting to the bone requires
cutting through muscle. Muscle tissue is the power that holds the whole
together. Politicians need to be mindful that the destruction of the muscle of
our society, in necessary services and social supports, is a perilous path. When
you cut to the bone, society
haemorrhages. The prognosis is not good. Consider the situation in remote
Aboriginal communities. Historically poor access to education, employment,
health services and social supports has had a negative impact on all quality of
life indices and we are still trying to redress the balance.
Creating an
environment that supports the wellbeing of individuals and communities is a
government responsibility. Harsh cuts to essential services increases unemployment
and erodes confidence and community capacity. There needs to be a balance
between the self-imposed economic imperatives of governments and their
obligations to support community wellbeing. There is no critical
differentiation between returning to budget surplus next year, or the year
after, or the year after that. What is a critical consideration is that our
quality of life is worth protecting along that journey.
