2.3 million Aussies unaware of Indigenous Voice To Parliament
The 'Yes' campaign for a First Nations Voice to Parliament referendum may require a robust education drive, according to new research by Finder.
A Finder survey of 1,050 Australians currently eligible to vote found that 13% say they don't know what the Voice is.
Nearly half of Australians (48%) are in favour of the constitutional referendum to recognise an Indigenous Voice to Parliament while 39% say they are against it.
With the referendum likely to be held between September and December 2023, the 'Yes' campaign has some work ahead of it to educate the small minority of uninformed Australians.
Graham Cooke, head of consumer research at Finder, said there was a knowledge gap to fill.
"The majority of Australians who have made up their minds are in support of a Voice, but it is still not the required majority across the country and majority of voters in a majority of states.
"The Australian Electoral Commission has some work to do educating the rest of the voting public about the referendum."
"If the undecided voters split in a similar way to those who have already chosen a stance, the referendum should pass easily. However, a 'Yes' is not in the bag and referendums often swing toward the status quo closer to the date."
Women overall are more in favour of a First Nations Voice to Parliament, with 52% in favour compared to 44% of men.
Division on the constitutional change is also a generational matter, with 59% of gen Z and 58% of gen Y in favour, compared to only 32% of baby boomers and 44% of gen X.
Interestingly, ignorance of the Voice is also more prevalent in younger generations, with 21% of gen Z and 17% of gen Y reporting they don't know what the Voice is.
Cooke said the referendum could be a landmark moment for the country.
"As we saw in the marriage equality plebiscite, younger Australians tend to lean more towards enacting change. With tens of thousands of young people added to the electoral register since the results of that plebiscite, the No side has a job to do to swing the result their way.
"With no money for campaigning in the recent budget, it will be the job of the Commission and local community campaigners to inform the remaining 13%, who will decide the result."
Support for the Voice is weaker in rural areas compared to the capital cities.
Just 43% of rural voters report not being in favour of the Voice and 15% report not knowing what it is, compared to 51% of metro voters who support it and 12% of metro voters who don't know what it is.
Queensland and South Australia are the states with the lowest support for the Voice at 43%, compared to Victoria at 51%.
| Will you vote in favour of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament? | |
|---|---|
| Yes | 48% |
| No | 39% |
| I don't know what this is | 13% |
| Source: Finder survey of 1,050 Australians eligible to vote, May 2023 |
| Will you vote in favour of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | I don't know what this is | |
| Women | 52% | 30% | 18% |
| Men | 44% | 48% | 8% |
| Source: Finder survey of 1,046 Australians eligible to vote, May 2023 |
| Will you vote in favour of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | I don't know what this is | |
| Metro | 51% | 37% | 12% |
| Regional | 43% | 42% | 15% |
| Source: Finder survey of 1,050 Australians eligible to vote, May 2023 |
| Will you vote in favour of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | I don't know what this is | |
| Gen Z | 59% | 21% | 21% |
| Gen Y | 58% | 25% | 17% |
| Gen X | 44% | 46% | 10% |
| Baby Boomers | 32% | 64% | 5% |
| Source: Finder survey of 1,050 Australians eligible to vote, May 2023 |
| Will you vote in favour of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes | No | I don't know what this is | |
| VIC | 51% | 35% | 14% |
| WA | 49% | 42% | 10% |
| NSW | 48% | 38% | 13% |
| QLD | 43% | 44% | 13% |
| SA | 43% | 44% | 13% |
| Source: Finder survey of 982 Australians eligible to vote, May 2023. ACT, Tasmania and NT excluded due to small sample size. |