Josh Funder
Australian retirees have had enough of lacklustre leadership and plan to take their vote away from the major parties, interim data from the latest survey of older Australians shows.
At the last election, older Australian voters determined the outcome, sending a strong signal not to burden their residential property with new taxes or take away important sources of income. Since then, those same senior citizens have had their health, incomes and lifestyle hit hard by a pandemic, lockdown and a rapidly spiralling cost of living.
Interim results from the most recent 2022 quarterly survey undertaken by Household Capital in partnership with Your Life Choices showed that, collectively, Australia’s retirees may underpin a significant swing away from the major parties in the upcoming election. Historically, 86% of respondents vote for one of the two majors; voting intentions, according to the latest survey, suggest this is set to drop to 69%.
Each quarter, over 5000 Australians over age 50 respond to the detailed survey to have their voices heard on the major issues they face. The survey is structured in collaboration with UNSW/Centre of Excellence for Population Aging Research.
The results from this year’s earlier survey showed more than 78% of older Australians were either “concerned” or “very concerned” about the potential introduction of an inheritance tax. It also showed respondents expressing high levels of concern at the prospect of the cashless welfare card being extended to pensioners, the lack of response to the Aged Care Royal Commission and inaction on climate change.
Voting intentions
Independents and the Greens are set to be the major beneficiaries of this swing, with Independents set to grow from 2.8% to 8.7% of the vote.
Voting intentions vary according to age.
- Only 45% of respondents aged 60-64 who have voted Labor previously expect to vote Labor later this month, compared to 73% of LNP voters. Labor voters in this age group indicated their vote will instead go to Greens (18%) and Independent (13%).
- Two-thirds of voters aged 65-69 intend to vote for a major party, with an estimated 12% cross-party swing between Labor and the LNP.
- Respondents aged 70-74 have indicated intent to direct the largest overall proportion to Independents.
- The largest swings away from the majors to come from those aged 75+. The major parties have traditionally commanded almost 90% of the vote from this cohort; voting intentions could see this fall to just over 70%.
Retirement is not meeting the expectations of a generation
The survey showed that it was evident that retirement was not meeting the challenges of an ageing population; 70% of respondent’s confirmed this. This finding was true across all levels of wealth, although older retirees were somewhat more positive. Labor voters were typically more negative, but Liberal voters in wealthier postcodes were among the most negative of all.
“Retirement should be a time when older Australians can relax and enjoy life with confidence,” said Household Capital CEO Dr Josh Funder.
“Instead, for many it’s a time burdened with worry about accessing appropriate care and support and worry about the rising cost of living and outliving retirement savings.
“Whatever the composition of the next government, it needs to commit to clear principles that deliver better outcomes for our seniors and support innovative, scalable funding models to meet the challenges of retirement housing, funding and aged care.”