This is the first federal election to see Gen Z and Millennial voters outnumbering Baby Boomers. But, despite the political power they now hold, young voters are feeling increasingly disconnected from the process. With more voters feeling disengaged, disillusioned and unfulfilled by political promises. With the federal election under a week away, is it too late to reignite voters’ interests?
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00:00For some Australians, the upcoming federal election is barely on their radar.
00:07I'm not even enrolled to vote. Yeah, what age do you have to be?
00:12Researchers say the group most disengaged with politics is people in their 30s and early 40s.
00:18People for whom the system really doesn't seem to be working that well.
00:22People who look at their parents at the same age and think they had it better.
00:25It's a growing trend, with more voters tuning out.
00:29People are just less excited about voting. They're less excited about the political parties.
00:34They're less excited about how Australian democracy is working.
00:37The number of Gen Z and millennial voters have overtaken boomers for the first time this election.
00:43But despite the political power they hold, they're becoming more disconnected with the process.
00:48So what would it take to re-engage them?
00:50Just come talk to us, ask us questions, ask us what we want.
00:54Having the voice of people that you look up to, like influencers for example, would be an amazing idea.
01:01They just don't see themselves represented in the political conversation and they don't see that conversation talking about the issues that actually matter to them.
01:08A new web-based tool is hoping to change that by helping voters cut through the political noise.
01:13You can select as many of these policy options as you agree with.
01:17Created by climate-focused group Project Planet, the Build-A-Ballot tool walks users through a series of questions to create a personalised voting plan.
01:25People are starting to think, oh maybe I shouldn't just vote how my parents have always voted.
01:29Maybe I should actually understand a little bit more about what I'm doing.
01:33And we've tried to design the tool in a way that really invites people into that process.
01:36But Dr Shepherd believes if voters are apathetic now, it's already too late to change their minds.
01:42I think if you're disengaged at this point, you're going to stay disengaged until the 3rd of May.
01:47With less than a week to go before polling day, politicians won't have to wait too long to find out.