Susan McKinnon Foundation, November 2024

The latest McKinnon Poll research delves into political partisanship, polarisation and social cohesion. This includes views of different groups on some challenging policy issues, how we think about political parties and trust in democracy and institutions.

The research findings offer useful insights into the Australian political landscape and contribute to an evidence base that policymakers can draw upon when addressing ongoing concerns on social cohesion and extreme views.

Findings include:

• While trust in electoral commissions remains high (80%) and compulsory voting is valued (61%), concerns about increasing political division and extreme views are growing.
• Fairness and equality are top leadership priorities for 25% of Australians.
• 72% support stronger action against extremism and intolerance.
• Experts believe partisanship in Australia is in decline: While partisans might come across as louder (mainly because they have more social media platforms to voice their opinions and can thus reach a bigger audience), Australians are actually less partisan nowadays in comparison to the past. The evidence they give for this change is the noticeable decline in party membership numbers and an increase in the numbers of swing voters.