Young continue to back date change for Aus Day
After many years of heated debate over whether January 26 is an appropriate date to celebrate Australia Day – with some councils and other groups shifting away from it – the tide appears to be turning among some groups.
Some local councils, such as Geelong in Victoria, are reversing recent policy and embracing January 26 as a day to celebrate with nationalistic zeal.
They are likely emboldened by what they perceive as an ideological shift occurring more generally in Australia and around the world.
But what of young people? Are young Australians really becoming more conservative and nationalistic, as some are claiming?
For example, the right-leaning Institute for Public Affairs states that “despite relentless indoctrination taking place at schools and universities”, their recent survey showed a 10 per cent increase in the proportion of 18-24 year olds who wanted to celebrate Australia Day.
However, the best evidence suggests that claims of a shift towards conservatism among young people are unsupported.
The statement “we should not celebrate Australia Day on January 26” was featured in the Deakin Contemporary History Survey in 2021, 2023, and 2024.
Respondents were asked to indicate their agreement level. The Deakin survey is a repeated cross-sectional study conducted using the Life in Australia panel, managed by the Social Research Centre.
This is a nationally representative online probability panel with more than 2000 respondents for each Deakin survey. With its large number of participants, weighting and probability........
© The New Daily
visit website