Standby Australia.
Let’s watch Patricia Karvelas and Stan Grant convert this one into fact.
After all at the ABC, only one thing stands higher as fact than the Crikey website, and that’s a poll that agrees with the group-think.
Changing tide: Biggest-ever poll finds 59% of Mallee voters now want government to do more on climate
A majority of Mallee voters now want the federal government to do more when it comes to climate change action, with one in four wanting ‘much more,’ as Australia's largest ever poll on climate change attitudes reveals a tidal shift in attitudes.
The poll is the first time YouGov’s multilevel regression with poststratification (MRP) has been used in Australia, after the technique’s stunning success predicting the last British election.
After surveying 15,000 people it found 59% of Mallee voters now say they want the government to do more than it is currently doing when it comes to climate change action. The national average for this question was 67%, indicating the conventional wisdom – that Australian attitudes on climate are sharply divided by geography – is wrong.
"If you listen to politicians and commentators, you'd think most Australians outside capital cities are vehemently opposed to climate change action – but this data shows just how wrong those assumptions are,” Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive Kelly O'Shanassy said.
“Nationally we see a steady groundswell of voters prioritising climate change when it comes to making a decision about where they will place their votes. One in five voters in Mallee now nominate climate change as their most important election issue.
“The gap between metro and regional attitudes to government action is small – a strong majority of voters in Mallee – and everywhere else – want to see the government do more on climate change action.”
69% of those surveyed in Mallee said they didn’t believe fossil fuels, such as coal or gas, should be part of Australia’s future energy mix, while one in five (20%) said it was their most important issue in the upcoming federal election.
The MRP tool combines census data such as population density, education, and household income with polling data to construct an estimate of how issues would play out in that specific geographical area. It allows for the poll to be broken down by electorates as well as demographics in a statistically reliable way.
YouGov spokesperson Ben Oxenham said it was an innovative way of reliably mapping community sentiment across electorates.
“MRP is based on the idea that people with similar characteristics behave in similar ways, and allow us to paint a much more detailed picture using our polling data,” Mr Oxenham said.
“This massive poll shows age and gender plays a much bigger role in determining voters’ attitudes to climate change action than where they live.”
"Our polling shows a young woman living in Melbourne is more likely to share the same views about climate change with someone the same age and gender in Maitland or Wagga Wagga, than she might with her baby boomer parents who live next door,” Ms O'Shanassy said.
The poll found 71% of Australian women want to see the government do more, compared to 62% of men. 77% of women do not believe coal and gas should be a part of Australia's future energy mix, compared to 64% of men.
Age was also a key difference in Australian attitudes towards the government's action on climate change. 41% of 18 to 24 year olds wanted to see the government do “much more” compared to 31% of those aged 50 to 64, and 32% of those over 64. 79% of voters under 24 didn't believe coal or gas should be part of Australia's future energy mix, compared to 63% of over 65s.
Media contact: Tim 0405 285 547
Which of the following is closest to your own view? The federal government..
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The federal government is already doing too much to address climate change
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The federal government is doing enough to address climate change
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The federal government needs to do more to address climate change
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The federal government needs to do much more to address climate change
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Mallee
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12%
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30%
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33%
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26%
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Thinking about the next federal election, which is due within the next 12 months, how important to your vote or preference are the two major parties’ positions - the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal/National Coalition - regarding action on climate change?
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Not important
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Of low importance
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Important, but not most important
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Most important
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Mallee
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21%
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23%
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36%
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20%
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Many of Australia’s coal-fired power stations are reaching the end of their operational lives and will soon need to be replaced. Which of the following do you believe the government should build to address this?
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Believe coal and/or gas should be part of Australia’s future energy mix
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Do not believe coal and/or gas should be part of Australia’s future energy mix
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Mallee
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31%
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69%
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