Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee
This submission addresses the elimination of the increased subsidy for people over 65 who have private health insurance. It raises issues about how we give effect to solidarity between generations.
A Perfect Match: When Individualism Meets AI Relationships
I wake up. I reach for my phone to look at an algorithm perfectly designed just for me. I put on clothes suited to my own personal style. At the station I see a t-shirt that reads: Focus on yourself, don’t get lost in other people, creating my dream life. On the train I listen to an LA influencer tell me of her deepest traumas and the importance of cutting off toxic people before saying ‘I love you guys.’
What can the Church Learn from Taylor Swift?
Taylor Swift began her career at only 14 years of age, producing albums that dominate music streaming, and breaking records for revenue on tours.
Before cutting off a family member, ask yourself these 9 questions
For some, distance is necessary. For others, the harder — and sometimes more meaningful — work is figuring out how to stay.
Please don’t bring your whole self to work
Here’s a radical idea for the second quarter of the 21st century: please don’t bring your whole self to work.
Creating Thriving Communities The Role of Not-For-Profits in a Fragmenting World
This article explores how organisations can foster an authentic sense of connection and belonging among team members and the value proposition for those organisations that do.
Workplaces of belonging – the next leadership frontier
The workplace today is more than a site of economic production—it has quietly become Australia’s most prominent social institution. For many, work has surpassed churches, sporting clubs, unions and other civic spaces as the primary environment for community connection, shared purpose and belonging.
This article explores how organisations can foster an authentic sense of connection and belonging among team members and the value proposition for those organisations that do.
Supporting People to Overcome Loneliness
How do we help people who are very lonely? Jonathan Andrews, a clinical psychologist and author of The Reconnected Heart: How Relationships Help us Heal, explains that it is the quality of relationships that positively impacts loneliness, not quantity. People need deep connection, not a large number of friends.
a name: kodokushi, or ‘lonely deaths’, where a corpse might go undiscovered for months in an unvisited apartment, before the smell finally alerts someone
Equity for stay-at-home parents is needed to tackle declining fertility
Australia’s total fertility rate, averaging 1.48 children per woman during her childbearing years, has reached an all-time low. This figure is far below the replacement rate of just over 2 children per woman. This is not uniquely an Australian problem. Many other developed nations have experienced an even sharper decline in fertility than in Australia.
a name: kodokushi, or ‘lonely deaths’, where a corpse might go undiscovered for months in an unvisited apartment, before the smell finally alerts someone
Tackling Loneliness – Publica Live Podcast (Recording)
What can churches and community group leaders do about loneliness? Loneliness is a huge problem
Male-female differences in beliefs about marriage
New data released from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey suggests that there is a growing gulf in terms of men and women’s attitudes towards commitment when it comes to marriage and the involvement of both parents in child-rearing.
What can we do to reverse the decline in fertility in Australia?
Australians have seemingly forgotten how to reproduce. Despite living in the most technologically advanced of times, it would appear we no longer know how to do the basics.
Fertility rates in this country have plummeted since the 1960s. However, the speed of decline in recent years is particularly concerning with the fertility rate as high as 1.88 in 2013 before falling to an all-time low of 1.5 births per woman in 2023.1 ANU Demographer Liz Allen said this meant Australia was “staring down the barrel of no return” from a population perspective.
Romantic Relationships Matter More to Men than to Women
Authors: Iris V. Wahring, Jeffry A. Simpson & Paul A. M. Van Lange Abstract Women
How to Increase Birth Rates in the EU – Jubilee Centre
Author: Dr Michael Schluter and Matthew Ferguson Abstract Europe’s birth rates are at have dropped
Will Banning Under-16s from Social Media Combat Loneliness—or Make It Worse?
Author: Isabella Clarke Introduction This is a key question following the federal government’s recent ban
Author: Sheridan Voysey Introduction When the eighty-year-long Harvard Study of Adult Development concluded, researchers in
Healing Together: The Church’s Role in Social Prescribing
Author: Nic Mackay Overview The world’s longest-standing mental health ministry is rooted in the tale
Presentation Slides by Prof Patrick Parkinson for Publica Webinar on Nov 19 2024
Author: Em Prof Patrick Parkinson, OA Overview Download link at the bottom of this page
Orygen young people and loneliness report November 2024
Authors: Ending Loneliness Together and Orygen. Executive Summary Loneliness is a World Health Organization global
KPMG responses to supplementary questions – NSW
Authors: KPMG OverviewStanding Committee on Social IssuesInquiry into the prevalence, causes and impacts of loneliness
The Role of Social Prescribing in Tackling Loneliness in young people
2024 is set to be the loneliest year on record for people in the UK, and the situation may be similar in Australia. UK government figures predict nearly one in seven will be living alone by 2039. By that same time, a quarter of the population will be 65+, creating its own set of challenges. The wider breakdown in community life ties many of these problems together: older people are increasingly reliant on government rather than family and local community support to help them in later life. The number of people living alone is closely linked to the rise in loneliness, as people lack everyday companionship found in the home, which also contributes to the West’s housing shortage, particularly in the UK and Australia. Japan suffers from an epidemic of isolation so acute it carries
a name: kodokushi, or ‘lonely deaths’, where a corpse might go undiscovered for months in an unvisited apartment, before the smell finally alerts someone
The Silent Epidemic: Unravelling the Complexities of Loneliness Among Young Australians
In the bustling cities and quiet towns across Australia, a silent epidemic is taking hold among the nation’s youth. While the majority of young adults navigate their daily lives with a sense of connection and belonging, an increasing number are grappling with a pervasive sense of loneliness. This phenomenon, once primarily associated with the elderly, has now emerged as a significant concern for those in the prime of their lives. In an Australian study of nearly 1500 adolescents and young adults, more than one in three (37%) young adults aged 18–25 indicated a problematic level of loneliness.
Research Report: Reasons for Loneliness Among Young People in Australia
Author: Hannah Weickhardt Introduction Most 18–24 year-olds are not lonely; however, for those who are
Authors: Diana Warren and Neha Swami Key findings • By 16–17, around two thirds of
Loneliness Inquiry – Summary report of online questionnaire
Authors: NSW Parliamentary Standing Committee on Social Issues Overview Online questionnaire summary report The purpose
Submission to Productivity Commission: Philanthropy Inquiry Draft Report
We welcome a great many aspects of this draft report. In particular, the recommendations that
Aged Care Reform Bill Submission
By threatening severe punishments for aged care staff, volunteers and boards of not-for-profit organisations if
Creating a Neighbourhood Health Service The role of churches and faith groups in social prescribing
Authors: Marianne Rozario for Theos. Overview The NHS and social care services in England are
Good genes are nice, but joy is better
Authors: Liz Mineo Introduction Harvard study, almost 80 years old, has proved that embracing community
An Accelerant on the Fire: Social Media, Smartphones & Young People’s Mental Health
In Australia, as in other Western countries, there has been a sharp deterioration in adolescent mental health over the last decade. Around 40% of young women, and 20% of young men, now have an anxiety disorder. Around 20% of young women, and 10% of young men now have an affective disorder such as depression. These patterns in Australia are mirrored in other parts of the Western world.
REBUILDING RIGHT RELATIONSHIPS Colloquium 2023 Policy Report
Authors: Colloquium 2023 Overview Session 1 – Loneliness Session 2 – Schools Session 3 – Domestic
Dr Michael Schluter on the importance of relational thinking
Dr Michael Schluter CBE, founder of the Jubilee Centre and Relationships Foundation in the UK, gave this video message at the commencement of the Building Right Relationships Colloquium, organised jointly by Publica, Alphacrucis University College and the Lachlan Macquarie Institute in October 2023. Michael introduces the importance of relational thinking for public policy and identifies five factors that matter to the formation of relationships in a community.
Learning from people with disability about loneliness and social isolation. In August 2023, Australia had its first-ever Loneliness Awareness Week, the result of a growing body of evidence indicating that loneliness is a significant societal issue requiring attention. Australia is not alone.
Prosocial behaviours and the positive impact on mental health
Authors: Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) Overview Prosocial behaviours are any activities that have
Author: Paul R. Amato Overview Many changes have occurred in Australia since the establishment of
Author: Paul R. Amato SummaryHow have recent changes in U.S. family structure affected the cognitive,
How’s Life for Children in the Digital Age?
Authors: OECD 2025 Abstract Today’s children are growing up in a rapidly evolving digital world,
The prevalence of intimate partner violence in Australia: a national survey
Authors: Ben Mathews, Kelsey L Hegarty, Harriet L MacMillan, Monica Madzoska, Holly E Erskine, Rosana
Broken Families, Broken Lives: The Challenge of Pastoral Care and Inclusion in the Church
The Prevalence of Family Breakdown Church leaders have long been aware that family breakdown is
Supporting Single People in the Family-Centric church
Coming out of the Covid 19 pandemic, churches across the country are experiencing change at
Belong, Be Known and Be Loved: The Mandate for Church communities in an age of Loneliness
Loneliness has been described as an epidemic.1 In a recent Australian study,² nearly 25% of
Submission to Productivity Commission: Philanthropy Enquiry
Publica’s submission to the Productivity Commission’s philanthropy inquiry. It highlights that the vast amount of
Randomized Control Study on Chatbot Psychosocial Effect
Authors: Cathy Mengying Fang, Auren R. Liu, Valdemar Danry, Eunhae Lee, Samantha W.T. Chan, Pat
Video: Relationship Breakdown Affects Us All
Emeritus Prof. Patrick Parkinson AM discusses how relationship breakdown affects us all.
The Loneliness of the Digitally Connected
Loneliness used to be identified as an issue particularly for the very elderly who have lost partners and friends through death; but now the loneliest age group in our community is the under-30s. These are the digital natives who typically have a large number of connections with people through social media.
Over the past decade, Hungary’s marriage rates have risen by 92% taking them from number 28 in Europe in 2010, almost at the bottom of the list, to number one in 2020.
Video: The Hope of Foster Care
Patrick Parkinson sat down with Mary Dickins of Fostering Hope to unpack her story and
Fostering Hope: The Rising Need for Christian Foster Care
It is never God’s design for children not to be with their biological families, but when this isn’t safe, we need families for these kids – families that will offer hope, healing, and understanding.”
Over the last few decades there has been a gradual increase in the proportion of one person households. It seems that as Australians grow in age our likelihood to live alone continues to rise.
The Relationship Drought is a new discussion paper for church leaders designed to stimulate conversations
