Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, indigenous
Q. What is your view about the following issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and whether they should be a priority for the government to address?
| TOTAL: Support | Jul’21 | Jun’19 | Feb’18 |
| Meet the ‘Close the Gap’ indigenous health, education and employment targets | 69% | 74% | 75% |
| Include aboriginal recognition in the constitution | 69% | 70% | 70% |
| Establish an indigenous ‘voice’ to advise the Parliament | 66% | 66% | 68% |
| Agree a treaty with indigenous Australia | 61% | 59% | 59% |
| Australia to become a republic | 43% | 43% | 46% |
| Change the date of Australia Day | 37% | 30% | 27% |
| TOTAL: Support | TOTAL: Support | Support, and should be a priority | Support, but not a high priority | Don’t support | Not sure |
| Meet the ‘Close the Gap’ indigenous health, education and employment targets | 69% | 34% | 35% | 15% | 15% |
| Include aboriginal recognition in the constitution | 69% | 31% | 38% | 17% | 14% |
| Establish an indigenous ‘voice’ to advise the Parliament | 66% | 29% | 37% | 19% | 15% |
| Agree a treaty with indigenous Australia | 61% | 27% | 33% | 22% | 17% |
| Australia to become a republic | 43% | 17% | 26% | 34% | 23% |
| Change the date of Australia Day | 37% | 17% | 20% | 50% | 12% |
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People, indigenous
Q. In your opinion, over the past 10 years, have things got better or worse for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia, or have things stayed much the same?
| Jul’21 | Jan’21 | Jun’19 | |
| A lot better | 18% | 18% | 18% |
| A little better | 30% | 30% | 28% |
| Stayed much the same | 33% | 32% | 36% |
| A little worse | 6% | 7% | 5% |
| A lot worse | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| Don’t know | 11% | 11% | 10% |
| TOTAL: Better | 48% | 48% | 46% |
| TOTAL: Worse | 9% | 10% | 8% |
| Base (n) | 1,099 | 1,084 | 1,097 |
| Total | Labor | Coalition | Greens | NET: Other | |
| A lot better | 18% | 13% | 27% | 13% | 22% |
| A little better | 30% | 28% | 36% | 28% | 24% |
| Stayed much the same | 33% | 40% | 24% | 39% | 34% |
| A little worse | 6% | 7% | 4% | 9% | 7% |
| A lot worse | 3% | 3% | 2% | 3% | 7% |
| Don’t know | 11% | 9% | 8% | 7% | 7% |
| TOTAL: Better | 48% | 41% | 62% | 41% | 46% |
| TOTAL: Worse | 9% | 10% | 6% | 12% | 13% |
| Base (n) | 1,099 | 404 | 388 | 87 | 114 |
indigenous, Indigenous recognition referendum
Q. If a referendum was held to include recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution, would you vote for or against?
| Jul’21 | Jun’19 | Sep’16 | Jul’15 | Aug’14 | |
| Vote for | 57% | 57% | 58% | 61% | 58% |
| Vote against | 16% | 18% | 15% | 16% | 10% |
| Don’t know | 27% | 25% | 28% | 23% | 32% |
| Base (n) | 1,099 | 1,097 | 1,005 | 1,006 | 1,008 |
| Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | |||||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||||
| Vote for | 57% | 59% | 55% | 60% | 58% | 52% | 64% | 52% | 79% | 47% | ||
| Vote against | 16% | 19% | 13% | 13% | 16% | 19% | 12% | 21% | 9% | 22% | ||
| Don’t know | 27% | 22% | 32% | 27% | 27% | 28% | 24% | 27% | 12% | 31% | ||
| Base (n) | 1,099 | 539 | 560 | 341 | 373 | 385 | 404 | 388 | 87 | 114 | ||
05 June 2012, 050612, Dr Helen Szoke, human rights commission, indigenous, multiculturalism, racial discrimination comissioner, Racism
Dr Helen Szoke explains that people need to learn how to identify and react to racism in social settings.
For the past decade, Australia has become the home of multiculturalism. Half of us were born overseas. In city suburbs Gen Y mixes easily with different nationalities and cultures. The fight against racism appears to have been won. Or has it?
The Racial Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Helen Szoke, tells 3Q racism is still a pervasive problem in Australia, with ethnic minorities and Indigenous people continuing to experience discrimination in subtle and not so subtle ways.
Read a transcript of a recent interview with Dr Szoke on the issue.
Unless they’re celebrating their ethnic diversity through a weekend festival or harmony day at their local school, most Australians want people to drop obvious cultural ties.
The Australian Human Rights Commission is developing a national anti-racism strategy to educate the public on what constitutes racism and how it can be prevented and reduced.
corporate interests, Essential Media, Essential Report, ethnic communities, federal politics, generation, Greens, indigenous, Labor, Liberal, Nationals, pensioners, Polling, polls, regional, rural, self-employed, small business, students, voter interests, welfare, working families
Q. Which political party do you think best represents the interests of –
| Labor | Liberal | Greens | Don’t know | |
| Families with young children | 34% | 31% | 5% | 29% |
| Students | 30% | 28% | 10% | 33% |
| Working people on average incomes | 40% | 32% | 5% | 23% |
| Working people on low incomes | 43% | 27% | 6% | 24% |
| Working people on high incomes | 13% | 63% | 2% | 22% |
| People on welfare | 38% | 23% | 8% | 30% |
| Pensioners | 33% | 28% | 5% | 34% |
| Small businesses and self-employed | 20% | 47% | 4% | 29% |
| Big business | 13% | 62% | 2% | 23% |
| The next generation of Australians | 19% | 31% | 17% | 33% |
| Indigenous people | 23% | 21% | 16% | 40% |
| Ethnic communities | 22% | 21% | 15% | 42% |
| Rural and regional Australians | 18% | 34% | 11% | 36% |
The Labor Party is considered the party which best represents the interests of working people on low and average incomes, people on welfare and pensioners. The Liberal Party is considered best at representing the interests of people on high incomes, big business, small business and self-employed, rural and regional Australians and the next generation. The Greens’ main strengths are in representing the next generation, indigenous people and ethnic communities.
There was little difference between the major parties in terms of representing the interests of families with young children, students, indigenous people and ethnic communities.
bill of rights, climate change, indigenous, National, National Issues, Republic, United Nations
Q. How important are the following issues for Australia?
| Total important | Very important | Somewhat important | Not very important | Not at all important | Don’t know | |
| Reaching a global agreement on climate change | 74% | 44% | 30% | 9% | 13% | 4% |
| Having a Bill of Rights | 63% | 29% | 34% | 18% | 11% | 8% |
| Gaining a seat on the UN Security Council | 59% | 20% | 39% | 20% | 13% | 8% |
| Having a treaty with indigenous Australians | 56% | 23% | 33% | 20% | 19% | 5% |
| Having a referendum on becoming a republic | 41% | 17% | 24% | 25% | 29% | 5% |
Reaching a global agreement on climate change was considered very/somewhat important for Australia by 74% of people surveyed. 63% think that having a Bill of Rights is very/somewhat important and 59% think Australia gaining a seat on the UN Security Council is very/somewhat important.
Green (94%) and Labor (87%) voters were more likely to think that reaching a global agreement on climate change is very/somewhat important for Australia. Just over half (55%) of Coalition voters think that this is very/somewhat important for Australia.