Last minute grabs for youth vote show the election is in our hands

The Federal Government have been ramping up its efforts to appeal to a younger vote, but is it too little, too late?

After being presented with minimal efforts on climate change policies, vaccine rollouts, effective responses to sexual assault claims, and even a brief stint in Hawaii while Australia was on fire, it’s not surprising that Australia’s younger voters are not too impressed with the Federal Government.

It’s even less surprising, now that an election date draws nearer, that both sides are making policies, promises and photo ops to draw that same crowd in.

While we will delve into the main issues with which the Coalition hopes to gain voter points, the important takeaway here is that the powers that be are realising the importance of securing a younger vote.

Now, more than ever, it’s beginning to feel like what younger generations have to say, and how they choose to vote, could really start making a difference.

Handling wealth inequality between generations

It’s no secret that life is more expensive for Millenials and Gen Z than it was for their parents. With housing prices on the rise and wage increases not going up at anywhere near the same rate, there’s a lot of life’s milestones that are looking out of reach. A situation that experts are predicting will only get worse thanks to Covid.

In response, the Federal Government is now claiming workers aged from 25 to 34 were given the biggest single share of the income tax cuts they promised last election — saving a combined extra $8.4 billion of their pay.

While it's true step one of the Federal Government's tax cuts focused on young people, step three is all about those with a lot of wealth.

“Australians aged between 25 and 34 are on average more than $3400 better off due to the government’s tax cuts,” said Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in a statement. He continued that students under 25 who worked part-time and young apprentices saved an average of $2430.

What he failed to mention, however, was that while stage one of the Federal government’s tax cuts plan certainly did help younger people, the upcoming stage three is very much aimed at helping high income earners — who are rarely young people.

Also, the latest ATO taxation data that has been published is from 2018 to 2019, so it makes Frydenberg’s statement hard to verify.

Public support

This week, we all watched as 2021’s Australian Of The Year, Grace Tame, made her personal feelings towards Scott Morrison very known on a public scale.

While some, ridiculously, dared to once again shame women for not smiling and playing nice, the biggest response on social media from people under 35 seemed to be a giant high five for Tame. Not just for using her platform to protest, but also a common sentiment of “she speaks for us all”.

When you compare that with the very happy picture Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese posted with Tame at the very same event — well, it’s pretty clear who she’s voting for.

She’s not the only one, either. Earlier this week, influencer and activist Yasmin Poole shared her experience of meeting Scott Morrison and dealing with Liberal powers, which she explained “felt gross. Everything felt cold, insincere”.

A thread about Parliament, power and photo ops.

When I was 20, I visited Parliament with a group of young women advocating for gender equality.

We were told we would meet Scott Morrison. We waited next to groups of school kids. He went around the circle posing with each group.

— Yasmin Poole (@yasmin_poole) January 26, 2022

She continued on to compare meeting Albanese on the same trip to parliament.

“Later, we met with Anthony Albanese. Polar opposite. We sat around a table and discussed our concerns for 30 minutes. He asked us questions and wanted to understand. Nearing the end, I raised my hand and said “Thank you for not treating us like a photo opportunity.” I meant it,” she said in a Twitter thread.

Funding the Great Barrier Reef

Last year, Scott Morrison refused to meet the bare minimum suggestions laid out at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) — and was widely criticised for an (at best) vague climate plan, that definitely did not include cutting down on fossil fuels.

Now, in an election year, he will be announcing an extra $1 billion (taking the budget for their Reef 2050 Plan to over $3 billion) going towards saving the dying Great Barrier Reef from climate change.

Throwing more money at research into the Great Barrier Reef, instead of into a sound climate policy, is like throwing a bandaid on a broken leg.

The investment will go into new programs and continued scientific research, but when the scientific community has already pointed out the devastating effects of climate change, it seems like it would be better spent on a climate plan to prevent the deterioration of the reef in the first place.

So it seems that younger generations are finally being considered, but will it be a meaningful change, and is it enough?

Originally published as Last minute grabs for youth vote show the election is in our hands