It’s in the age breakdowns where things get more interesting. Unlike on most other issues where there’s a relatively clear progressive/conservative divide,younger people were actuallylesslikely to support a republic,according to the poll. Forty-five per cent of 18- to 35-year-olds support shifting away from the monarchy,compared to 48 per cent of those aged 55 and older. One in three younger people were unsure.
The numbers raise an obvious question:why? When younger people are more likely to support stronger action on climate change,and were more likely to vote for legalising same-sex marriage,when they’re more likely to vote for political parties associated with republicanism (Labor and the Greens),why are they so lukewarm on the idea itself?
It’s probably time for those driving Australia’s republican movement to recognise that whatever they’ve been doing isn’t working – especially when it comes to engaging the generations usually the most primed to shake up things. When you picture the most prominent faces of the movement,and what exactly they’re campaigning for,it isn’t surprising republicanism has failed to gain traction,or momentum,among younger people.
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The two people most closely identified with the republican movement are former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and national chair of the movement Peter FitzSimons – also my colleague atThe Sydney Morning Herald – both in their 60s. Turnbullreiterated his support for a republic earlier this year,after having been appointed chair of the Republican Advisory Committee by Paul Keating in 1993,when he was in his 30s. It’s hard to think of anyone with a high profile in today’s movement who is in their 30s,let alone their 20s.
While the two men’s dedication to the movement can’t be faulted,both are part of an elite media and political class. It shouldn’t be a shock that younger Australians find it difficult to relate to these champions of the cause.