MULTICULTURAL VOTERS COULD SWAY THE REFERENDUM

New data has revealed that multicultural audiences could hold the key to winning the vote in the final days of the referendum campaign, with almost one third of CALD voters yet to engage in conversation about the issue and 20 per cent still undecided on how they’ll vote.

Multicultural engagement organisation CulturalPulse surveyed almost 1,400 people, including 728 from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities, about their thoughts on the referendum.

Only 31 per cent of CALD respondents have actively engaged in discussions about the Voice Referendum, compared to 64 per cent of Anglo-Celtic voters.

Active engagement in CALD communities drops among those with non-European ancestry. 43 per cent of people with European ancestry are actively engaging in discussions about the Voice, compared to 14 per cent of Middle East/Arab, 13 per cent South Asian and 7 per cent of East Asian segments.

The results raise questions about the level of detail and context being provided by both campaigns and how these are affecting decision making, with the data suggesting multicultural voters haven’t been communicated with effectively.

CulturalPulse CEO Reg Raghavan said misperceptions suggested non-European audiences were often sympathetic to and curious about Indigenous issues, when attitudes are much more complicated.

“Neither campaign has been truly effective in engaging with CALD audiences and it’s emblematic of a larger issue we have seen – where Australian businesses and political groups put multiculturalism in the ‘too hard’ basket,” he said.

“These groups have very different values systems and ways of communicating to Anglo Australian audiences, so to ignore them is irresponsible, ineffective and a waste of money.”

16 per cent of people in CALD communities had not seen any ‘No’ campaign information, while only seven per cent hadn’t seen ‘Yes’ campaign information – indicating the ‘Yes’ campaign had greater penetration in CALD communities.

The poll also showed CALD voters over indexing on being undecided about their vote – one in five (21 per cent) had not decided how to vote, compared to 7 per cent of non-CALD voters.

Australians either born overseas or with at least one parent born overseas represent 51.5 per cent of the population, meaning up to 10 per cent of votes could be up for grabs within CALD communities.

The top five undecided communities are Middle East and/or Arab (33 per cent), East Asian including Japan and China (33 per cent), Southeast Asian including Philippines and Vietnam (23 per cent), Central or South American (22 per cent) and South Asian including India and Pakistan (20 per cent).

The poll also showed:

Fewer than half of CALD voters state they’ll be voting yes (43.5 per cent). Contrasted with the 76 per cent who think recognition is important, that’s a gap of 33 percentage points.

The highest level of support for recognition was recorded across African (91 per cent), South Asian (88 per cent) and Central and South American (87 per cent) cultural groups.

43 per cent of CALD audiences and 33 per cent of non-CALD audiences plan to vote yes. By contrast, one in five CALD voters and 58 per cent non-CALD communities will vote no.

‘Friends, family and community’ were among the most common source of information for some CALD groups, including African communities and South Americans.

And while he might be Australian music royalty, just how successful has the ‘Yes’ campaign’s choice of John Farnham’s ‘You’re the Voice’ been with culturally and linguistically diverse audiences?

CulturalPulse asked respondents to identify who the singer of the song is. Across CALD segments, Central and South American consumers were least likely to know, with only 26 per cent recognising Farnham, while 48 per cent of people with an Asian background weren’t familiar with the tune.