Our Social Face

The Age

Friday July 21, 2006

STEPHEN CAUCHI, SCIENCE REPORTER, DEWI COOKE, CHEE CHEE LEUNG

Family, lifestyle, health, caring for others and the environment are increasingly important to Australians, according to the latest Bureau of Statistics research.

-- BY STEPHEN CAUCHI, SCIENCE REPORTER

WITH Australia and the world increasingly concerned about global warming, energy saving is rapidly emerging as a priority in people's lives. And riding this of interest are firms involved in sustainable architecture, such as Architects in Fitzroy North. Managing director Rick Zen says more than half of the homes designed by the firm were "energy efficient".

Some homes just used simple principles, including north-facing orientation to maximise exposure to the sun, coupled with thick walls and insulation.

Others had more advanced and expensive concepts such as solar panels, solar hydronic heating and the use of "grey water" for washing and cleaning, Mr Zen "There's any amount of work out there. There's plenty of people who want to do this sort of thing. It's a matter of having the capital to do it ? there's people with conviction and they're doing all sorts of things. If they haven't got the money they'll look at personal behaviour, which is probably one of the best things people can "There's a hell of a lot of awareness out there (even though) it's expensive, which makes it a little bit more Mr Zen says solar panels becoming increasingly popular and can be fitted to the roof of any "They're about $4000 to $5000 for a small grid. Anyone can do that.

Anyone with an existing home can just ring up any of the power companies and they'll install Recycling water was also becoming steadily more popular. "If you're looking at one with the lot, you make it water autonomous, you work at holding onto as much water on-site for a as long as possible," Mr Zen "We use quite sophisticated filters to take rainwater and filter it down for drinking and then use progressively less filtering for say showers and basins to nothing for the toilets."

Mr Zen's assessment is backed up by the report, which shows that the proportion of brick dwellings - which are more energy efficient - increased from 68 per cent to 71 per cent, while the number of dwellings with insulation increased from 52 per cent in 1994 to 61 per cent in 2005.

Mr Zen says country homes more likely to be environmentally friendly because they have the space to adopt sustainable architecture, whereas inner urban localties are often affected by heritage And from July 2004, new homes in Victoria have to be built with five-star energy ratings, which was further fuelling the popularity of sustainable architecture."

You don't have to live like a hippy, you don't have to live like a suit.

all sorts of ways of coming into this problem and you want to engage everyone to have a go."

SNAPSHOT: HOW WE USE ENERGY

- Energy production and use contributed 69 per cent of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions in 2004

- In 2003 Australia contributed 1.4 per cent of global emissions of carbon dioxide

- Australia is committed to meeting the Kyoto target of 108 per cent of 1990 greenhouse gas emissions by 2010.

But without $1.8 billion of Federal Government incentives, the figure would have been 123 per cent.

-- BY DEWI COOKE

WHEN Bill Gray was in his 50s, life was good."

I was in business and business was going well," the 77-year-old says. "I think I liked being in those 50s generally better than I have the last 20 years. I think people respected people when I was 50 than they do Like many men and women of his age in the early 1980s, Mr Gray was ensconced in family life, although by the end of the decade that had started to fall apart. Most of his three children were still living at home at the Mr Gray had trained as an electrical fitter at Collingwood Technical College in his youth before starting his own photography studio. He returned to university as an adult but after 18 months decided it wasn't for him. But he says, "I've never been out of work I've never been sacked, I could always have any job I wanted".

He survived a life-threatening aneurism 10 years ago and realised "it wasn't time to go". So he retired and has been busying himself with writing, videoing and documenting life ever since. With a little romance thrown in for good measure.

But Mr Gray's experience of his 50s is different Irene Mrs Ho, 58, and her husband have two adult children, both of whom flew the nest many years ago. Mr Gray was living in Eltham in his 50s while Mrs Ho now lives in the CBD after selling the family home in Today, women like Mrs Ho have fewer children than their counterparts of 20 years ago. Their life expectancy has also increased, from 80.7 years in 1980-82 to 84.6 in 2002-04. Similarly, the life expectancy of men at age 50 in 1980-82 was 75.1 years while in 2002-04 it was 80.6 Mrs Ho, who arrived from Hong Kong at 17, has been a teacher all her life. A native Cantonese speaker, she retrained in her 40s to teach Mandarin and only recently stopped because of her mother's ill health. She hopes to return to the profession one day but knows it won't be "I feel luckier than our children, in a way. That's why I felt that if I go back to teaching, I'm taking someone else's place. I have had my time, I would still like to contribute a lot more, I am healthy and it's wonderful to help people," she Her ailing mother lives in Hong Kong and Mrs Ho travels back and forth to see her, reflecting a trend among her generation in which 21 per cent of people aged 50 to 59 provide some kind of family care.

With her cultural background, Mrs Ho also mimics another emerging social trend in the over 50s - migration.

Although Australia was experiencing high levels of it when Mr Gray was in his 50s, fewer people at his age were born overseas than they "I am happy that my children doing well and I have a lovely Australian daughter-in-law," Mrs Ho "We're going to have a lovely grandchild that's going to be Australian with Chinese blood. Over here I am

SNAPSHOT: 50 TO 59-YEAR-OLDS

- Better educated

- 10 per cent increase in mature aged people in the workforce

- More born overseas

-- BY DEWI COOKE

GROWING trends in women's participation in the workforce have given rise to the emerging issue of the worklife ABS figures show that more women have joined the workforce in the past 25 years and in 2004 made up 45 per cent of the labour market compared with 36 per cent in 1979. Most women (about 52.6 per cent in 2004) now work and the bulk of them are employed full- Women like Van Nguyen who, at 36, has been working full-time for 14 years. She is a social worker with North Yarra Community Health and her decision to work in the health and community sector reflects a dominant trend in the industries women Ms Nguyen's sector is among the most popular and has had an increase in participation from 16 per cent in 1987 to 18 per cent in 2004.

But she doesn't believe she was attracted to social work for the stereotypical reasons of women being better suited to nurturing or caring "I started out involved in a lot of community activist work so it was around justice and equity and fairness and, I suppose, these are really strongly held beliefs by men and women - it's about making a difference," she says. "I think the health and sector is still seen as being a traditional role (for women) but it's not, it's actually quite a fundamental part of society. It's not just about the health and caring roles anymore and I didn't see it in that way when I She is in a long-term relationship and, like many working women of her age, is contemplating having children.

But she is aware of the sacrifices she will have to "Should I give up the full-time and all the lifestyle that comes with having a full-time wage and having the freedom of not having the whole responsibility of children, or should I just have children," she "That's a constant struggle for And in the end I think we just have to make a decision on whether we want children, and we do."

Ms Nguyen's decision to children in the future mirrors other working women of her age. In 1979, women's employment slumped dramatically between the ages of 20 and 24 and picked up again at age 30 to 34, a link to women's prime childbearing years. In 2004 this change was less marked and showed only a gradual decline from 20 to 24 and a stronger dip between ages 25 and 35.

This freedom has been a blessing and a curse, Ms Nguyen says. Although her partner contributes to household duties she still finds that at the end of her 38-hour week she will be the one to scrub the floors at the weekends - but mostly because she likes the way she does it more."

I often think that feminism has been great for women because it's opened a lot of doors but at the same time you actually end up doing a lot more. You do all the household and you still have to maintain full-time employment. It's a lot harder, but that's an old debate."

SNAPSHOT: WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT

- More women in the workforce

- More employed women in long-term partnerships

- More working mothers

-- BY DEWI COOKE

HAVING a child was a surprise for Neil Churchers and his partner, Susan Rushworth. Both over 40 when daughter Lucy, 3, was the couple were at turning points in their lives and her arrival coincided with momentous "For both of us we thought, before we met each other, that it was never going to happen at all," Mr Churchers says. He had been working for himself as an IT professional and was pouring everything in to his work. Ms Rushworth had just been awarded a scholarship to study her PhD. But when Lucy was born the choice of who would be the primary caregiver was easy. It fell to Mr Churchers, who works from home, and he says it has been wonderful."

My partner finds it very cult to believe now but I used to be a workaholic and find all sorts of excuses to actually continue to keep on doing stuff, whereas now I'd have to say that I find ways to be as lazy as possible," he says.

Lucy entered child care for two days a week at about 12 months.

She is now there three days a week but otherwise spends her time with Mr Churchers while Ms Rushworth completes her studies."

It's just wonderful, it gives me a perfect excuse to run around and go out to a playground or enjoy the sunshine or whatever," he says. "It's been really important for me to be there. I've been the one who's seen her take the first crawl, the first all that sort of Mr Churchers, now 48, is among a growing number of men who having children later in life. Most recent ABS figures show that in 2003, 25 per cent of fathers were aged over 45, compared with 19 per cent in 1992. More of them are involved in child care activities too, although men still remain primary income And Mr Churchers is happy to have "Given what I remember of myself in my 20s and my 30s and how I am now, I'm a lot more now and my temper is much less fiery and I'm not bugged by things. I roll with things and quite prepared to look at things from Lucy's point of view ? I'm not saying it's true for everybody but certainly for me I think it's better that this should be happening now."

SNAPSHOT: FATHERS AND THE WORK-LIFE BALANCE

- More men having children later

- More fathers working part-time

- More children born out of wedlock

-- BY CHEE CHEE LEUNG

ZULEJHA Kliko got an early taste of volunteering at high school, putting her hand up to help raise money for the Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal.

Three years ago, having developed an interest in museums and exhibitions, she spent a couple of months volunteering in customer service at the Australian Racing Museum. Last year she became involved with the Inspire Foundation, giving her time to help develop the content and design of the ActNow website, an online program helping young people take action on social issues and contribute to the The 22-year-old, who works as a fund-raising and office co-ordinator for a not-for-profit organisation, says she remains a volunteer with ActNow because she finds the program inspiring and enjoys helping to get an important message out to other young "I have put a fair bit of time into it, but I don't see it as a waste of time at all. It's something that's really good to be part of, and really she says. "It's a great way to meet new people and experience new things and to learn about yourself as well.

That's why I'm not surprised and more young people are doing While ABS surveys show volunteering had increased in all age groups between 1995 and 2000, the increase was proportionally higher for young people. The main reasons the young gave for doing work were: personal satisfaction, to help others or the community, and to do something worthwhile. It was also more common for 18 to 24-year-olds than people in other age groups to say they were volunteering to gain experience and learn new Ms Kliko believes she wouldn't have been offered her current job without her experience with the Inspire Foundation on her resume. She also believes her voluntary work helped her develop employment contacts and improved her communication While recognising that people busy schedules, she believes the would suit many, as long as they volunteering in an area of personal interest. "Young people's lives are but the beauty about volunteering is you can control how much or little you do," she "I'd say (to other young people) give it a go ? it's a great way to build up their skills, and it's a fantastic way to feel like they are really contributing to their community."

SNAPSHOT: THE VOLUNTEER

- In 2002, almost 535,000 18 to 24-year-olds had taken part in voluntary work in the previous 12 months.

- The rate of young people taking part in volunteer work rose from 17 per cent in 1995, to 28 per cent in 2002.

- Young men were more likely to volunteer in sport, recreation and hobbies. Young women were more often volunteers in welfare and community.