Election 2022: Gen Z’s surprising nomination for pollies they’d share a beer with

Generation Z may have voted skinny jeans out, but when it comes to the Australian Parliament who do they want in?

Aussie Gen Z-ers heading to the polls on May 21 – most for the first time – are sick of both major parties, with their attitudes towards Liberal and Labor ranging from apathy to flat-out hatred, a recent survey of pollers born after 1997 has revealed.

This age group, which has been largely overlooked in this year’s campaigning process, holds little hope for the federal election or its outcomes and has little faith in the two major leaders.

Perhaps most telling were the answers given when respondents were asked who they’d rather share a beer with: Anthony Albanese or Scott Morrison?

Young Aussies heading to the polls were surveyed on what matters most to them this election.

Some of the responses included:

● “I don’t really think I would enjoy myself with either, but I definitely don’t want to be near ScoMo.”

● “Albo, but they are still both evil.”

● “I guess Albo, but I’d rather neither.”

● “Albo. Two bad choices.”

● “Neither. I hate them both.”

Eccentric MPs Clive Palmer and Pauline Hanson were also put forward by survey respondents as being pollies they’d rather catch up with, over both of our major party leaders.

Out of a hundred respondents, only two said they’d like to share a frothy one with Scott Morrison, giving their respective reasons as “he has an economics degree so he must be a smart guy,” and “ScoMo is a self-made millionaire so he could tell me a thing or two”.

Survey respondents weren’t too keen on having a beer with either major leader. Picture: Jason Edwards

Picture: Liam Kidston

While the largest proportion of Gen Z-ers surveyed indicated they planned to vote for the Australian Labor Party, there was little enthusiasm for this choice aside from seeing it as a better alternative than voting for Scott Morrison, “the lesser of two evils”.

One respondent, aged 22, put it in frank terms: “We need to remove ScoMo, and Albo doesn’t seem like the worst guy. Honestly, I’m not even a big fan of Albanese but the Liberal party and namely Morrison have repeatedly proven largely incompetent at leading Australia through key events.”

Another dramatic answer given by a 21-year-old stated: “I would rather die than vote Liberal, and Labor is the only viable option to keep Liberals out of office.”

The Daily Telegraph took to the streets to ask young Aussies their thoughts on the election.

Gen Z Election story. Young Aussies vox pops in CBD about the election. Source Daily Telegraph Tiktok

22-year-old Mikaya from the seat of Warringah on Sydney’s northern beaches, says Morrison’s time in power has made her a swing voter. She voted for the coalition in 2019 but won’t be doing that this time around, citing the Prime Minister’s leadership failures during the 2020 bushfires and recent floods as a reason to shift preferences.

“Re-election of ScoMo will change absolutely nothing, so the best bet is to trust the opposition, unfortunately,” she said.

Similarly, another 23-year-old swing-voter singled out the floods and bushfires as “proof of Scott Morrison being an inept and incompetent leader”.

“I can’t vote for them this election but nor can I vote for any of the others.

“His own party hates him, I think that says a lot,” they said.

The survey also revealed that more respondents planned on voting for independent candidates, including Allegra Spender, rather than the current coalition government.

One respondent said they were choosing to vote independent “simply because Labor and liberal both suck,” and that voting independent was “the only chance to kick Liberal out of my electorate”.

“I truly don’t have any trust in either party to do the right thing anymore and I’ve never felt that way before in my short voting life,” another respondent said.

However, some more considered reasonings were given including that independents seemed more genuine, and had more integrity along with strong economic policy, while remaining intent on investment in renewables.

22-year-old Mitchell Morri is planning to vote for an independent candidate. Picture: Richard Dobson

So is 18-year-old Hayley Prenter. Picture: Supplied

22-year-old Mitchell Morri, from the electorate of Wentworth in Sydney’s east, explained that “more independents are needed to try and implement policy for both Liberal and Labor and make it more even across the board”.

18-year-old Hayley Prenter, a first-time voter from the electorate of Hughes, says she will be voting independent largely because of her concerns over climate change, explaining she has zero confidence in both major parties over their climate policy.

“Scott Morrison says we are gonna [sic] reach net zero by 2050 but has no detail in the relevant policy to make that happen,” Ms Prenter said.

She also referenced her time spent volunteering in the clean-up efforts for NSW’s recent catastrophic floods as further evidence of government shortcomings.

“I just don’t think enough has been done, you can’t just come up and say hi to a few locals and assume the job is done. An entire town has been wiped out by the water, so many people are living in houses they shouldn’t be living in.”