Poll reveals more than one in two young South Australians rate climate change as a vote changer

Just six per cent of young SA voters rate climate change an insignificant concern as polling reveals how many would change their vote over environmental policies.

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More than one in two South Australian voters aged between 18 and 24 say climate change will have a very significant role in deciding who they vote for at the federal election.

The polling, by public policy think-tank The Australia Institute, also showed just six per cent of people in that age group deemed it insignificant.

But the issue still rates with older people, although to a lesser degree. Three quarters of voters aged 65 years or older rated the issue as either somewhat or very significant when considering who to support on May 18. The least supportive were the 55-64 year age gr

oup, with just 32 per cent labelling it very significant.

The new polls follows a renewed focus on climate change all week.

Labor Leader Bill Shorten, in Adelaide this week, declared the issue one of the top two or three topics that will decide the election.

A day later modelling, dismissed by Mr Shorten, said Labor’s climate change policies would cost the economy $264 billion by 2030. And schoolchildren across the country yesterday protested for action on climate change, including outside the office of SA Senator Simon Birmingham.

The institute’s SA projects manager Noah Schultz-Byard said the greater concern about tackling global warming among younger South Australians may have a significant impact on the May 18 result.

“With a crowded field jostling for two South Australian Senate seats that are hanging in the balance, the choice that younger voters make in our state could also have a major impact on the final makeup of the Upper House,” Mr Schultz-Byard said.

The polling has also highlighted the view, shared by many political commentators, that the election is being fought largely on intergenerational lines. Labor appears to have focused on younger voters with a pitch on issues like climate change and housing affordability. The Coalition has focused much of its attention on issues that will impact on older voters, including Labor’s franking credits stance.

Adelaide Students protest their concerns about climate inaction outside the offices of Liberal Senator Simon Birmingham in Adelaide. Picture: AAP Image/Kelly Barnes

Mr Schultz-Byard said the polling of 606 South Australians found support was clearly defined on age and party lines.

“Across South Australia, when asked which of the two major parties has the better overall plan for the future, more voters supported Labor’s policies across all age groups between 18 and 54-years-old,” he said. “That then changes, with more voters aged 55 and above preferring the Liberal Party’s plan over Labor’s.”

“Political parties need to be responsive to their voters and every year, as more young Australians are added to the role, the electorate evolves.”

Parties should ignore significant action on climate change at their peril, she said.