Young tradies key to the ‘yes’ campaign for Voice

Yes campaign strategists will target their ad spend around football finals to win over young men disengaged from politics — a group they believe is critical to winning this year’s Voice referendum.

Yes campaign strategists say they will target their advertising spend around football finals in a bid to win over young men disengaged from politics, a group they have identified as critical if they are to win this year’s Voice referendum.

Polling has shown younger tradies and men who work in other non-office based jobs, have low awareness of the proposal in line with their wider indifference to politics and their low engagement with the news media in general.

The Yes campaign believes while focus group research showing the group’s lack of information about the Voice is a problem, it means that, unlike older demographics, they are less likely to have a prejudiced view against the proposal.

A recent JWS Research poll found the Voice is significantly more popular with women than with men.

A senior Yes strategist said the campaign believed younger blue-collar voters could be won over if information is presented to them in a sympathetic way.

Electricians Harrison Lowe, Zac Hicks and Andrew Whyte are campaigning for ‘Yes’ to the Voice to Parliament. Picture: Adam Yip

“If they can be brought to understand that this will be good for Indigenous and good for the country as a whole, they come on board,” the strategist said.

He said the key would be persuading them that the Voice reflects traditional Australian values around helping out mates.

Yes campaigners are acutely aware however that they will be competing for this vote with the No campaign, which has also identified it as a group that is less likely to have fixed views on the Voice.

“It’s about effective messaging, which will be a combination of online material and reinforcement by word-of-mouth by the campaigners,” the source said.

He said the campaign will be focusing its advertising spend around football finals with ads aimed at reaching as many men under 40 as possible.

Zac Hicks, 24, an electrician from the Sutherland Shire, has been “fully on board” with the Voice for about three months since he heard about it at work.

“I was at work and was fully unaware of it – I thought it was already in place,” he said.

“I’ve got plenty of mates who are Aboriginal and Torres Straits people and I want their concerns to be heard.

“One of my work colleagues told me about it and I couldn’t believe it wasn’t in place already, so I jumped on board and so I’ve been all in since.”

Earlier this month The Sunday Telegraph reported the Yes team had dumped plans to put celebrities and sports stars at the centre of its campaign and will instead use ordinary Indigenous Australians.