Indigenous voice to parliament: Voter curiosity levels reach a low level … and stay there
The Indigenous voice to parliament referendum is struggling to capture public interest relative to past federal elections, Google Trends data show.
The Indigenous voice to parliament referendum is struggling to capture public interest relative to past federal elections, Google Trends data show.
Less than two weeks out from voting day, a comparison of Google Search trends data shows that both the 2019 and 2022 federal elections garnered more traffic at this point in their respective campaigns. Nonetheless, the voice to parliament has been on the top of voters’ minds for longer, The Australian has previously reported, with Google Trends data showing simmering, long-term interest in the topic for almost a year whereas federal elections have not seen such engagement.
This curiosity about the voice appears to have reversed at the five-weeks-prior mark, when Search interest started to pick up in the 2019 and 2022 federal elections; the same has not materialised for the voice to parliament.
This comes despite repeated assertions from both Yes and No camps that voters would begin to engage with the debate closer to the referendum.
Polling has consistently suggested the Yes campaign is struggling to attract voters and there has so far not been evidence of a turnaround in the last weeks of the campaign.
Anthony Albanese said the “key” to the final two weeks of the campaign would be one-on-one conversations to convince voters.
“I know a lot of people have not made up their mind, and what I know is that the feedback, when people talk through these issues, they arrive at a Yes vote pretty comfortably,” the Prime Minister said.
Pollsters have previously warned that voter apathy could affect voting results.
While voting is compulsory, SEC Newgate research partner David Stolper told The Australian a month ago that Yes voters had greater voting conviction.
“The average stated likelihood to vote amongst Yes voters is quite high at 8.3 out of 10 but significantly lower amongst No voters at 5.4,” he said.
“A lower turnout could favour the Yes campaign and, as such, the contest may be slightly tighter than our voting intention results suggest.”
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