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Changing views towards Australia Day

19 Jan 2021

Q. Will you personally be doing anything to celebrate Australia Day or do you treat it as just a public holiday?

  Jan’21 Jan’20 Jan’19 Jan ‘17 Jan ‘16 Jan ‘15
Doing something to celebrate Australia Day 29% 34% 40% 34% 38% 40%
Just a public holiday 53% 46% 45% 46% 44% 41%
Working – I don’t get the Australia Day holiday 6% 6% 6% 5% 6% 7%
Don’t know 12% 14% 9% 15% 12% 12%
Base (n) 1,084 1,080 1,652 1,015 1,028 1,020
  • Under a third (29%) of people are doing something to celebrate Australia Day this year, lower than in previous years (34% in 2020 and 40% in 2019).
  • Just over half (53%) say they treat it as just a public holiday, which is the highest recorded since 2015.
  • 6% are working and don’t get the holiday, and 12% don’t know.
  Total Gender Age Group Federal Voting Intention
  Male Female 18-34 35-54 55+ Labor TOTAL: Coalition Greens TOTAL: Other
Doing something to celebrate Australia Day 29% 35% 24% 23% 34% 31% 30% 36% 9% 32%
Just a public holiday 53% 47% 58% 58% 49% 53% 55% 48% 76% 45%
Working – I don’t get the Australia Day holiday 6% 6% 5% 8% 7% 2% 4% 7% 8% 7%
Don’t know 12% 11% 13% 11% 11% 15% 11% 9% 8% 15%
Base (n) 1,084 539 545 341 358 385 334 431 118 106
  • Coalition voters are the most likely to be doing something to celebrate Australia Day compared to other voters (36% followed by 30% Labor voters, 32% other voters and 9% Greens voters). For the majority of Greens voters (76%), Australia Day is just a public holiday.
  • Those aged 18-34 are less likely to be doing something to celebrate Australia Day than older cohorts (23% compared to 34% of those 35-54 and 31% of those over 55).
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