In March 2007 ActNow asked Australian young people to tell us what they cared about the most this federal election, and the response was great! Over 1,000 people took part in the online survey, with 927 people completing it in full.
The ActNow YouthPoll 07 aimed to gauge the issue interest and knowledge of young people aged 14–25, and asked them to identify which issue categories would influence their vote in the next federal election. The top three issue categories were Environment and National Resources, Employment and Workplace Relations, and Education and Training, and from these categories, the top five specific issues of interest were calculated.
Environment issues especially took the lead. Of the 1,112 young people nationally who took part in the survey, 81% rated the environment as the most important issue category.
After the results were totaled, the top five national issues for young people were:
- Water shortages
- Climate change
- Workers rights (i.e. minimum wage)
- Funding for unis and TAFEs
- Student Debt
Do the results surprise you, because they didn't surprise me!
What was surprising though was the survey also showed that, even when it came to the issues they cared about, many young people only felt ‘a little’ or ‘not at all’ informed about the issue: worker’s rights was the third most important issue among young people, with 90% of respondents saying that it was an issue they felt strongly about,
yet only 24% felt ‘completely’ or ‘very’ informed on the topic.
The best way to fight this "information gap" is to stay informed! The issue pages on ActNow are a great way to keep up-to-date on information. And don't forget to enroll to vote - make young peoples' voices heard!
For a summary of the full results visit
www.inspire.org.au.
This work is licenced under an Attribution licence.
© 2008. First published on actnow.com.au
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