Yes campaign seeking youth support amid concerns of awareness gap

Support for the Voice has softened among Australia’s youth as research suggests they’re less likely to think Indigenous people experience disadvantage, leading to a fresh push from the Yes campaign.

Young Australians’ support for the Voice has softened as research suggests they are less likely to think Indigenous people experience disadvantage, prompting a renewed push from the Yes campaign to sure up the youth vote.

Voters aged 18 to 35 remain the strongest cohort in favour of the proposed Voice to Parliament, but as the referendum date nears the Yes camp is increasing efforts to crystallise that support after internal campaign research found a lack of awareness among young people about the Indigenous gap compared to older Australians.

Yes strategists believe this issue has impacted locking in the youth vote, but their research has also found young people are more likely to support the Voice once they understand the disparity on issues like life expectancy, health education and employment.

One campaign insider said young voters were particularly important in Victoria and Queensland, as there was a larger share of under 35s, compared to South Australia and Tasmania which have more seniors.

The latest Newspoll in September showed support for the Voice among this age group dropped five points to 50 per cent, while the No vote increased four points to 41 per cent, with the remaining undecided.

Uluru Youth Dialogue co-chair Allira Davis says Yes campaigners are trying to counter disinformation online. Picture: David Clark

Social media platforms favoured by young people, such as TikTok, have been identified by both the Yes and No campaigns as a key to influencing youth voters.

Videos posted on TikTok by the No campaign Fair Australia have racked up tens of thousands of views, including one with more than two million another with 1.5m, while Uluru Dialogue and Yes23 have had fewer viral moments on the platform.

Yes23 is launching a major youth engagement event in Melbourne on Wednesday, while the Uluru Dialogue has organised a “picnic for change” event on Saturday, inviting Australians to hold their own events in support of the Voice.

Uluru Dialogue Youth co-chair Allira Davis said Yes campaigners had done a “lot of work” to be on TikTok as they recognised it was a major source of information for many Australians.

“We have been trying to combat the misinformation with factual information,” she said.

“We ant people to make an informed and conscious decision about what’s in front of them.”

More than seven million Australians are on TikTok, which has become a key social media platform in the referendum. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Tim Pascoe

Ms Davis attributed the slight backslide in youth support for the Voice directly to misinformation spreading online.

“But I have faith in the Australian people, and especially young people, that we can make a difference and make this change,” she said.

A No campaign spokesman said the reason young people had started to switch allegiance was because the Yes side had squandered the large amount of “goodwill” with a lack of a clear message around the referendum.

“Support from that demographic, like most, has eroded over time,” he said.

“I don’t necessarily think that’s because they don’t want to see Indigenous people helped, it’s not because they don’t have a heart.

“Maybe some people just don’t think it’s a very good idea.”

The spokesman said the Yea campaign had clearly not achieved the same success in content creation and engagement as No.

“You’ve got to meet people where they are rather than lecture them from where you are,” he said.

“We’ve got a team that has really excelled at driving content that is engaging, but also on message.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been campaigning with Yes supporters in Tasmania. Picture: Chris Kidd

Anthony Albanese said he was concerned about misinformation and disinformation influencing voters trying to seek out facts about the referendum in good faith.

“To me, the No campaign undermines its own position by the fact they want to talk about everything that this referendum isn’t about and nothing about what it is,” he said.

“If they had a confidence in their position, then they wouldn’t have to make things up.”

Speaking from Tasmania, which is a must-win state for the referendum to succeed, the Prime Minister urged voters to look at the wording of the proposal.

“The truth is, there is no downside in voting Yes,” he said.

Originally published as Yes campaign seeking youth support amid concerns of awareness gap