How Both Major Parties Have Let Young Australians Down This Election

There’s been an ongoing theme this election campaign of young people apparently not giving a shit. We don’t care enough to vote, we don’t care enough to get involved, and we should stop moaning about housing prices and the precarious job market.

But I think there’s been another theme of this year’s campaign. In fact I think it’s a theme that’s been around for a while. It’s politicians and political parties not giving a shit about us.

I’ve heard the tired old arguments about young people not caring about politics hundreds of times. I think it’s rubbish. Whether it’s climate change, same-sex marriage, education funding, or plenty of other issues, there’s substantial evidence that young people do care.

And when it comes to elections there’s evidence we care as well. This election 87 per cent of Australians aged 18-24 are enrolled to vote, the highest level in recent history. Over the course of the election campaign the enrolment rate for 18-year-olds went from 50 to 70 percent, a clear sign that young Australians were responding to and engaging with the election.

But hidden behind the statistics is a bigger question: Is politics working for us? Does the political system act in the long term interests of Australians or does it reward lazy, short-term policies like tax cuts? Do our political parties respond to the concerns of younger voters or do they ignore us a demographic, since we’re outnumbered substantially by older voters?

Given that over 70 percent of voters aged 18-24 intend to vote for Labor or the Greens this election (according to the most recent Fairfax-Ipsos poll), but the overwhelming majority of commentators and analysts are predicting a Coalition victory, it doesn’t really seem like we have much electoral clout. But that’s a pretty simplistic analysis. Just because we tend to be progressive and sensible when it comes to voting, doesn’t mean everyone else’s votes don’t count. As fun as a dictatorship of millennials would be, it’s not necessarily the fairest way to run a democracy.

The real question is, how have we ended up in a situation where the interests of younger Australians, who are the future of the country, have been so neglected? The Coalition government has no serious climate change policy, has refused to release a higher education policy, wants young people to work as interns for next to nothing, will hold a national vote on same-sex marriage that won’t even force its MPs to vote for it, and thinks the solution to the housing crisis is getting your parents to chip in for a deposit.

How on earth can an incumbent government be running on such a morally bankrupt agenda and be favourites to win? Obviously the responsibility for poor Coalition policy lies with the Coalition. But there has been a clear failure on the progressive side of politics to build up a strong and cohesive opposition to the Abbott-Turnbull governments. Over the past three years the Coalition has tried to end universal healthcare, massively increase student fees and drastically rip apart Australia’s social safety net. These are radical, unprecedented reforms that were opposed by most Australians, but despite pushing for them the Coalition still looks likely to be rewarded with a second term of government.

It’s hard to know exactly why voters haven’t embraced Bill Shorten’s Labor opposition, despite a relatively stable few years. To its credit the Labor Party has developed a credible policy on negative gearing and plans on rebooting the NBN. But on a whole range of areas that impact young people Labor has dropped the ball.

Despite campaigning on “protecting penalty rates”, Labor has refused to enshrine Sunday penalty rates in law, meaning that both Labor and the Coalition have effectively the same policy. Sure, Labor will write a submission to the Fair Work Commission asking politely for Sunday penalty rates to be retained, but if the Commission recommends cutting them, it won’t do anything to stop it.

Labor has also refused to reinstate the vast majority of public funding for hospitals that was cut by Tony Abbott in 2014. They have unveiled a comprehensive climate change policy, but remain committed to coal mining, and support the development of the largest coal mine in Australia.

And of course on refugee policy, both parties vehemently agree that all asylum seekers arriving by boat should be sent to Manus Island and Nauru for offshore processing and should never be settled in Australia, even if they are found to be genuine refugees. Labor also supports the Coalition’s policy of “turning back” asylum seeker boats.

I don’t pretend for a second that there is no difference between the major parties (in addition to the above, Labor will legislate for same-sex marriage without a plebiscite), but it’s clear that on a range of crucial policy issues there is plenty of agreement.

It’s possibly for this reason that a record number of voters, at least one in four, are expected to vote for the Greens, other minor parties and independents this Saturday.

The Greens have been campaigning hard in traditional inner city Labor seats, hoping that their policies of humane treatment of asylum seekers, increased funding for higher education, renewable energy investment and legislating to protect penalty, will lure away long-term Labor voters.

On paper, the Greens policies on these issues reflect the values of younger, progressive voters more than any other party. Labor argues that the Greens can talk the talk but are unable to actually deliver in Parliament. But if Labor is consigned to another three years in opposition it’s not really clear how they can deliver either.

A big issue for progressive voters this election has been the intense, and at times vitriolic, battle between Labor and the Greens. If these parties genuinely want to stop the Coalition agenda they will need to work out some sort of political accommodation sooner or later, otherwise the next election will become a repeat of this one: the two parties of the left beating each other to a pulp while the Coalition skates to victory.

Despite the increased Greens and independent party vote there are only two contenders for Prime Minister: Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten. And despite their policy differences, it’s clear that neither of him have the enthusiastic support of the electorate, let alone young Australians.

The challenge for all of us who care about a fairer, more progressive and environmentally sustainable Australia is to figure out how to organise and articulate our views better so that no matter who is Prime Minister our voice is heard. That might mean getting more involved in party politics or, more likely, it means getting active politically in other structures and campaign groups on issues we feel strongly about, whether it’s arts funding, refugee policy, the environment or education.

There isn’t an easy answer on how to make sure the interests of our generation, and Australia’s future, are represented. But if we don’t figure out what to do about the housing crisis, climate crisis and refugee crisis (just to name three!), things will keep getting worse. We give a shit. It’s time to make sure politicians and political parties give a shit about us.