Australian Population Research Institute study finds Melbourne most woke city

Australians were asked about their attachment to their own country and some of the results — particularly from the ‘woke’ city of Melbourne — surprised the researchers.

Sydneysiders are more likely to feel “Australian” than “woke” Melburnians, a new survey of voter attitudes has found.

And people from Melbourne are the most progressive in the country, the research, from the Australian Population Research Institute, found.

It also found young adults under 30 are even less likely to feel like they belong to Australia, with only a third agreeing they have a feeling of “belonging to our nation to a great extent”, the research found.

The institute, which published a paper based on the survey findings, says the “arresting findings” are likely contributing to a political swing to the Greens which could have national political significance.

The findings, based on a survey of 3000 voters nationally by Tapri in December last year, posed the question: “To what extent do you have a sense of belonging to Australia?”

Bob Birrell is the head of The Australian Population Research Institute and says the results of the research were striking: “Most of these voters were raised and educated at public expense in Australia … yet, on our measure, most don’t feel very Australian.”

Of the capital cities surveyed, Brisbane residents were most strongly attached — at 59 per cent, followed by Sydneysiders at 56 per cent, then Melbourne at 49 per cent, and other capital cities at 54 per cent

Country people from the regions were the most strongly attached overall, at 62 per cent.

Sydney residents were more patriotic than Melburnians. Picture: John Appleyard

On the other hand, only 32 per cent of all 18 to 29-year-olds had a strong feeling of attachment to our country, dipping to just 26 per cent of young Melbourne people.

“These are odd results,” one of the authors, population expert Bob Birrell, said.

He pointed out that Melbourne voters were highly dependent on the benefits of living in Australia — and benefited from Commonwealth tax flows.

“So why are Melbourne’s voters so ungrateful,” Mr Birrell said.

“The best explanation is that this sentiment flows from Melbourne being the most progressive, or woke, location in Australia.”

The survey also asked multiple questions about social and cultural issues, including on gender fluidity and changing the date of Australia Day, and found 35 per cent of Melbourne voters were progressives, compared with 31 per cent of Sydney voters and 23 per cent of Brisbane voters.

“These outcomes are strong in Melbourne where a woke elite dominates cultural and political expression, and where such outcomes are being given political shape by the Greens party,” Mr Birrell said.

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