What Are Gen Zedders Thinking?

The editor of FSN was telling me he’d love to know just what first time Gen Z voters might be thinking as the State and Federal elections approach. So, I said I would round up my friends and ask them.

I sent out a questionnaire to 8 people who are voting for the first time in the 2025 State and Federal elections. It’s not the most representative sample you’ll ever come across as they all live in the Western suburbs of Perth but they do include a range of sex, gender and political engagement demographics.

Here’s what I discovered.

Credit Gabriel Valdez at Unsplash

How do you feel about being able to participate in the upcoming State and Federal elections for the first time?

Many of the respondents, like me, expressed excitement at finally being able to have a say in Australia’s democracy. Along with excitement, 75% of my respondents admitted to having felt “overwhelmed”, “confused”, “puzzled” or “unprepared” due to the number of candidates to choose between.

A good number said they have only recently become aware of some of the smaller parties and candidates now that they are eligible to vote. I for one, never realised there was a Legalise Cannabis party!

“I am excited to finally have the privilege to have a say in democracy yet overwhelmed with the number of options and somewhat backwards policies available for people to vote into power”, said one.

“Excited that I can express my beliefs politically” and “excited as it feels like a good opportunity to learn more about politics”, said another.

“I feel unprepared and also indifferent. There is nothing really targeting people like me” and “Prepared, yet a little powerless! While I’m grateful to be able to vote, I feel worried that when things fall upon the major parties, it is difficult for change to come about”, were other interesting responses to this question.

Do you consider yourself interested in Australian politics and why/why not?

My respondents displayed varying levels of interest in Australian politics.

Some said they didn’t perceive much change between elections and thus didn’t feel personally invested towards policies or a party. Respondents who reported that they followed current affairs within Australian politics expressed feeling more passionate towards certain causes like climate change, the housing market and human rights.

Here are some of their responses:

* “Yes. Once I made the connection between politics and upholding human rights, it became increasingly important to me that I stay informed.”
* “Yes … I think there are lots of pressing issues like climate change and the housing market that make who we vote for very important at the moment, so I like to stay informed.”
* “I am disengaged as I don’t feel like any party really appeals to me.”
* “I do consider myself interested in Australian politics because I believe that politics influences and shapes peoples everyday lives and future, and it is essential to engage with it as a member of a community. Especially in regard to caring for the vulnerable.”

It is interesting to see how respondents who perceived themselves as politically engaged implied that rather than finding politics ‘interesting’, they felt a sense of obligation or duty to keep themselves informed. This may indicate the innocence of youth, and how younger generations often tend to uphold stronger human rights and equality ideals than older generations.

If you do engage in Australian politics, how do you engage?

The most common source of information about politics amongst my Gen Z respondents (88%) was through social media, in which they reported receiving information passively, or actively, by following political profiles and independent news sites.

Other informational sources popular amongst Gen Z respondents included conversing with family or friends, electorate newsletters, reading news online, peers in advocacy groups, alternative news media and occasionally broadcasted news and newspapers.

A couple of respondents said that they advocated for causes that they felt strongly about by posting on social media, signing petitions, protesting, door knocking, and raising discussion amongst family and friends.

“I am part of a few advocacy groups where I tend to learn a lot from my peers but also independent news sites on social media like Cheek Media, National Indigenous Times, The Daily Australian & Impact”, one respondent explained.

Other comments were:

* “Voting, signing petitions (usually related to human rights), giving to mutual aid, and more informally having conversations with friends and family about politics! Sometimes this ends up turning into an argument, particularly when grandparents are involved.”
* “Minimally. I read the occasional web/newspaper article and read Kate Chaney newsletters.”

On the understanding that the integrity of our voting system depends on people feeling a sense of responsibility to inform themselves about candidates and politics, it is encouraging to discover that, as my respondents have become eligible to vote, they have reported their political engagement have increased.

Do you feel that the information is reliable and trustworthy?

Respondents were generally optimistic, expressing that they were conscious of keeping a healthy level of scepticism towards news, finding headlines and news events relatively trustworthy rather than political opinion pieces.

Some concerns about untrustworthy sources included political opinion pieces, negative campaigning that is prone to excluding context, corporate news, and state sponsored media.

Their comments included:

* “Reliability has become a bit of a personal concern with Meta’s new policies however I find that generally social media news accounts can be more accountable than printed news.”
* “I come across negative campaigning on the political profiles that I follow on social media, so I am wary that this information could be unreliable as its context is often excluded.”
* “I see posts from the main parties on Instagram but most of it is ‘brain rot’ and stops me from taking the whole system seriously as while I am technically the target demographic it only alienates me more.”

Who do you trust in the community? Please rate on a scale from 1 to 10 where 1 is least trustworthy and 10 is most trustworthy.

When asked to rate how much my respondents trust different entities on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the most trustworthy), friends and family were unanimously rated as being the most trustworthy with an average of ~8/10 for friends, and 7.6/10 for family.

Respondents generally rated local government sources as being more trustworthy than the state government, and state government sources as being slightly more trustworthy than Federal government ones.

Respondents reported feeling they were more likely to trust small businesses and grass roots organisations compared to larger corporations.

Interestingly, although most people reported a general satisfaction with media trustworthiness or a general trust towards the media, the media was only rated an average of 4.5/10 on the trustworthiness scale, with a median of 4/10.

To what extent (if any) are you concerned about the transparency of institutions such as the local, state and federal governments, businesses, not for profits, universities and the media?

There was a range of interesting responses to this question. Here they are:

* “Not overly concerned, I feel like in the digital age it is easier to find and be aware of different viewpoints and for people to call out false information.”
* “I am less likely to trust big companies or governments, … because they have not always been transparent in the past and some of their policy pitches are still worded quite vaguely.”
* “I think that political parties and businesses need to be significantly more transparent in regard to political donations and corporate lobbying – I think the extent of businesses influence over the government needs to be public – especially in regard to the resource sector.”
* “I am quite concerned about governmental transparency, as I have been made aware of the Finance section of the Electoral Reform recently proposed that aims to cap political donations. It has been called out for containing loopholes that would advantage the two major parties and exacerbate their duopoly over minor parties and independents.”

Some respondents admitted to feeling concerned but felt disempowered that there isn’t anything they could do to change this.

What are your top 3 concerns for the upcoming state and federal elections?

Echoing economic concerns, 86% of respondents listed housing affordability in their top 3 priorities for the State election, while 78% listed cost of living.

Other priorities amongst these younger voters’ top 3 for the State election include the environment, health and social care (particularly mental health), sustainable development, developing small businesses and the community, and education.

Top concerns for the Federal election include cost of living, the environment/climate change, health and social care, education and HECS debt, crime (especially religiously motivated), international human rights, and immigration and asylum seekers.

What factors have influenced your voting priorities?

Really interesting answers here. “I am a young person and thus very concerned about the climate crisis. I am close to people and have empathy for those who are economically struggling – along with the fact that I would like to afford moving out of home”, said one.

Another said factors that influenced their voting priorities included “being a tertiary student and feeling a lot of pressure with HECS debts, worries about not being able to ever afford a home, concerns about certain parties not reflecting my interests and beliefs, worries about climate change and cost of living.”

Yet another respondent reflected on social media’s role in exposing them to marginalised communities. They felt “a bit more open minded towards diverse demographics of people and more passionate about increasing equality of opportunity.”

Some of the 8 respondents expressed that they aligned themselves with parties based on how inclusive and progressive their views were, how sustainable their policies are, their policies towards immigrants and asylum seekers, and for their consideration of international human rights.

One respondent thought that, compared to older generations, Gen Z are more left leaning, and hoped that this would lead to change in future elections.

Have you aligned with one party/person for a long time, or do you feel that your view on who you want to support fluctuates?

A range of responses:

* “I am consistent in what I support and have aligned with left wing parties for a long time. However, I fluctuate between Labor and the Greens on different policies.”
* “I feel my view is only just solidifying but even still, I am prone to ‘switching sides’ if I disagree with a policy proposed.”
* “When I was younger, I was briefly Labor aligned.” Currently I think “the Greens are the best option in my electorate” (but) “I do not agree with everything the Greens do and definitely have criticisms”.

Of the respondents who mentioned a party they aligned with, most stated the Greens, with Labor as the second most mentioned party.

Considering how America’s democracy is struggling with political polarisation amongst voters in recent times, it is encouraging that most respondents from Gen Z could think for themselves abiut which party or candidate best represented their values, and were open to changing their alignments.

How does your political and voting outlook align with your family/the significant people around you?

Again, an interesting set of responses to this question:

* “I think we have similar view although I might be more open to make sacrifices to my own social/economical conservation/standing in the hope of making changes towards sustainability and equality.”
* “I am one of the only ‘politics nerds’ in my immediate circle so I feel people tend to come to me for validation or information on each party. Most of my inner circle align with my values.”
* “I typically have aligned my political outlook with my parents … but I believe “my parents have a bit more concern towards the security of technology than me.”
* “My extended family are intensely pro-Labor,” said one respondent who mentioned they would be voting for the Greens. The respondent said they had convinced their Dad to support the Greens as well, “following Labor’s inaction on Palestine and their environmental record.”
* “My voting preferences align most strongly with my close friends. However, in the last federal election my parents said that they would vote however I did.”

It is interesting to see which way familial influences can go for different respondents. Some have taken on similar political views to their parents, whilst some influence their parents to share their views!

A couple of respondents noticed a generational divide between them and their extended family or grandparents, who were often described as holding more conservative views.

Most respondents said that it was often their friends who most closely shared their views on politics and party alignment, although one mentioned they did have a few friends with “radically different beliefs” to them.

Do you think people in Australia are treated equally and have equal opportunities and access in society, no matter their gender, race, or religion? Rate how equal you think Australia is on a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being extremely unequal and 10 being extremely equal.

Almost unanimously, respondents expressed concern for inequality experienced by First Nations Australians. Responses averaged a rating of 5 out of 10 when asked to rate on a scale how equal they perceived Australia to be on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being very equal).

Australia has a “history of colonial violence towards First Nations people” which has “created vastly unequal outcomes for the traditional custodians of this land compared to the privilege that settlers such as me have. Also, Australia has a pretty shocking asylum seeker policy,” observed one respondent.

Others answered:

* “I think within Australia’s CBDs, people are treated fairly equally but in more rural areas, particularly where there are higher populations of Indigenous Australians, there are way more barriers that inhibit education equality and class mobility.”
* “Domestic violence is still a massive issue.”
* “I feel like men’s mental health and issues are still not given enough spotlight as while there is awareness there is genuinely very little support.”
* “Protections for marginalised communities seem to be increasingly under debate, especially when it comes to visa and educational rights. (…) Our prejudices towards anyone who is not a white Australian male still affect the way we perceive people in our day to day lives.”
* “I think Australia has come a long way but still has quite a conservative culture in a lot of ways… It was literally only 8 years ago that Australia legalised gay marriage…”.

Overall, the Gen Z voters seemed to appreciate the privileges and opportunities they personally experience as middle-class young adults in Western Australia, but acknowledge that minority groups including people of colour, immigrants, asylum seekers, women, disabled people and people in rural areas often face socioeconomic inequity as well as prejudice and discrimination.

How do you feel about the future?

For the last question, my respondents held varying outlooks, both pessimistic and optimistic.

Two expressed feeling positive about their own future but felt concerned for the future of the country’s political, social and environmental landscape. Matters like climate change, housing affordability and the impact of social media on younger kids’ development, were brought up as the most pressing issues in the long term.

Some responses to how they felt about the future included:

* “Hopeful and overwhelmed – it fluctuates depending on the news cycle of the day.”
* “Concerned. I am worried that I will not be able to afford a house, I am worried that we will soon pass the point of no return to stop climate change. As well as concerns about the world my future kids will live in.”
* “I feel like the future of the media landscape is going downhill, where echo chambers are increasingly toxic.”
* “I have to be hopeful else I will go insane. I genuinely believe that things will get better.”

All up

In my small cohort of Gen Z respondents, most seem fairly informed about Australia’s upcoming elections, and responsible in how they have gone about gaining their information.

Most appeared to lean towards the political left.

Considering there was an overwhelming Millennial ‘Yes’ vote in the order of 79% approving gay marriage just 8 years ago, in 2017, the voting weight of Millennials together with that of Generation Z reasonably suggests young voters in this overall grouping will have a significant influence on the outcome of the upcoming State and Federal elections.

We will now watch and see just how much!

* By Izzy Ercleve – Fellow Gen Zedder. Izzy Ercleve is a Shenton College graduate and is taking a gap year before making big life decisions. A writing enthusiast, she is interning at Fremantle Shipping News to learn more about the world of journalism!

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