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Eureka Street readers shift towards Greens

  • 30 August 2013

Eureka Street readers are changing their political allegiance in this federal election campaign.

A readers’ survey conducted last week revealed a shift away from the ALP, which the majority of poll respondents supported in the 2010 federal election. Then, nearly 60 per cent of readers voted Labor but this time only 36 per cent intend to do so.

Readers are not, however, moving to the Coalition: the number intending to vote for the Liberals (just under 13 per cent) or the Nationals (just over one per cent) is almost exactly the same as it was three years ago.

The Greens have been the chief beneficiary of the decline in support for Labor. In 2010 just under 18 per cent of readers voted for the Greens but this time more than 25 per cent intend to do so. The extent of the Greens’ support varies, however, according to age and religious belief. A majority of readers who identified as either atheists or agnostics – 53 per cent – are Greens voters, compared with 43 per cent of Catholics. Other Christians divide almost evenly in support for the Greens (just under 38 per cent) and support for Labor (just under 37 per cent). Younger readers are also more likely to vote Greens: 40 per cent of those under 50 intend to do so, compared with just over 26 per cent of those aged 60 or older.

The survey data, compiled from emailed responses by more than 1400 readers, was analysed by Emily van der Nagel of Swinburne University’s Institute of Social Research. Some of the results do not confirm popular preconceptions about the ways in which demographic groups are likely to differ. Support for the government’s National Broadband Network, for example, is higher among older readers – nearly 59 per cent of readers aged 60 or older rated implementing Labor’s version of the NBN as either important or very important, compared with 50 per cent of those aged 50 or younger. 

Responses to some other survey questions were more predictable. The younger readers are, the more likely they are to support same-sex marriage: nearly 70 per cent of those aged 50 or below either agreed or strongly agreed that same-sex marriage should be legalised, compared with just over 53 per cent of those aged 60 or older. Religion also appears to have shaped attitudes to this question. An overwhelming majority of atheist and agnostic readers (nearly 84
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