In the second week of the election campaign, we noticed: young people were being ignored on the road.
The leaders’ appearances in legacy media and the scant attention they paid to climate change and mental health politics meant that young Australians lacked faith in the choices in front of them, long before they reached the polls.
On Saturday night, the unprecedented support for the Greens in Queensland would not have come as a surprise to those who were paying attention to the very angry and politically engaged young people around them.
Brisbane, Griffith and Ryan, electorates that rejected the main parties and went green, have the highest proportion of young voters in the country.
But this wasn’t just a “Greensland” coincidence.
In the 10 electorates with the highest proportion of young voters (18-29 years old), the Coalition only won two. Four were won by the Greens.
|
CLASSIFICATION |
ELECTORATE |
VOTERS UNDER 30 YEARS OLD |
WINNING PARTY |
PREVIOUSLY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
one |
MELBOURNE |
26.9% |
VEGETABLES |
VEGETABLES |
|
two |
BRISBANE |
25.7% |
VEGETABLES |
LNP |
|
3 |
GRIFFITH |
24.7% |
VEGETABLES |
MOUNTAIN |
|
4 |
CANBERRA |
23.1% |
MOUNTAIN |
MOUNTAIN |
|
5 |
Ryan |
22.5% |
VEGETABLES |
LNP |
|
6 |
NEW CASTLE |
22.3% |
MOUNTAIN |
MOUNTAIN |
|
7 |
herbert |
22.2% |
LNP |
LNP |
|
8 |
WERRIWA |
21.5% |
MOUNTAIN |
MOUNTAIN |
|
9 |
CALWELL |
21.3% |
MOUNTAIN |
MOUNTAIN |
|
10 |
LINDSAY |
21.3% |
LIBERAL |
LIBERAL |
Meanwhile, in the 10 electorates with the lowest proportion of young voters, the Coalition won seven, or is likely to win, and the Greens won none.
|
CLASSIFICATION |
ELECTORATE |
VOTERS UNDER 30 YEARS OLD |
WINNING PARTY |
PREVIOUSLY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
141 |
RICHMOND |
11.4% |
ALP (LIKELY) |
MOUNTAIN |
|
142 |
LYNE |
12.1% |
NATIONAL |
NATIONAL |
|
143 |
WIDE BAY |
12.3% |
LNP |
LNP |
|
145 |
hinkler |
12.9% |
LNP |
LNP |
|
146 |
PAGE |
12.9% |
NATIONAL |
NATIONAL |
|
147 |
GILMORE |
13.0% |
LIBERAL (LIKELY) |
MOUNTAIN |
|
148 |
FLINDERS |
13.3% |
LIBERAL |
LIBERAL |
|
149 |
MAYONNAISE |
13.7% |
CENTER ALLIANCE |
CENTER ALLIANCE |
|
150 |
EDEN-MONARO |
13.8% |
MOUNTAIN |
MOUNTAIN |
|
151 |
GREY |
14.0% |
LIBERAL |
LIBERAL |
This was not just a mistake on the part of the Coalition: Labour, if they were smart enough to take advantage of the frustration of young voters in South East Queensland, could certainly have picked up a few more wins in the Sunshine State.
Greens leader Adam Bandt said the support his party received from young Australians was the “most moving and significant endorsement” on election night.
Charging
“Young people would come up, in many cases with tears in their eyes, and say, ‘This is actually the first time I’ve felt hopeful about politics. This is the first time I feel like we might have a chance address climate change.’ It was genuine, moving.”
Of course, it wasn’t just young voters who helped seal the Coalition’s fate on Saturday. Women voters of all ages rejected the Morrison government in favor of a greener (and teal) future.
Combined, the lack of support from women and youth undoubtedly helped seal the fate of the Coalition.
What the big parties can learn from the young
While Australia’s election campaigns are mercifully short compared to others around the world, the strategy for the 2025 election will certainly have already begun.
The fresh-faced herd of crossbenchers have three years to prove themselves; Labor will have to fend off any other independent or minor party challenger if it wants to secure a second term; and as for the Coalition, it will have to do more than “examine its conscience” to try to win the youth vote.
So what should behind-the-scenes strategists learn for the upcoming election campaign if they wisely target young voters?
First, the narrative that young people are a niche voter group not worth pursuing is past its expiration date.
It’s not only boring, it doesn’t even make sense if you’re trying to win votes.
In this election, there were more than 3 million Australians under the age of 30 whose votes were up for grabs. Politicians seem to forget something crucial about this group: Young voters haven’t had time to establish any kind of party loyalty. They are malleable and compelling, or in other words: winnable.
As Sally Anderson, a 23-year-old voter from WA, told us last week, voting for an independent candidate was a way of letting the major parties know that they “are not doing their job right.”
“Politicians need to start including us in the conversation and stop writing us off,” said Sally.
Second, election advertising means very little to young voters. While their parents might have been sick of hearing certain political jingles on TV, the youngsters (who don’t tend to watch free-to-air TV) had barely heard them. Is it better to spend those millions elsewhere?
Third, young people are issue-based voters and don’t care much about personality politics. After all, a triple j survey of 18-29 year olds found that only 2 percent believe politicians across the spectrum are working in the best interests of young people.
In other words: young people’s faith in politicians is so critically low that many don’t particularly care who gets in. They just have to talk about the issues that matter to them and actually stick to them.
Loading form…