1. A changing Australia

Winning elections requires reaching out and earning majority support of the electorate.

The Australian electorate has changed significantly over time. For example...

Ancestry:

In 1947, around 10 percent of Australians were born overseas.
In 1996, 23 percent of Australians were born overseas (13 percent in Europe, 5 percent in Asia).
By 2021, 29 percent of Australians were born overseas (9 percent in Europe, 13 percent in Asia).
Currently, around 32 percent of Australians were born overseas.

Religion:

In 1947, 88 percent of Australians described themselves as Christian.
In 1996, 71 percent of Australians described themselves as Christian (4 percent other religion, 17 percent no-religion).
By 2021, 44 percent of Australians described themselves as Christian (10 percent other religion, 39 percent no-religion).

Household:

(Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics)

In the Party’s history, the way Australians live, interact and consume information has continually changed.

For example:

In the late-1940s, Australia had around one car per 14-15 people. A vast majority regularly read a newspaper or listened to radio. TV had not been invented.
In the mid-1990s, Australia had around one car per 2 people. They watched an average 2.4 hours of free to air TV per day and a clear majority read newspapers and listened to radio. The internet was only in its infancy.
Today, Australia has around one car per 1.3 people. The media landscape is very fragmented with much less free to air TV (an average 0.7 hours per day) and 87% of adults regularly using social media.

For those who have been following politics for a long time, here is another reality check…

By the next election, almost one in five voters (around 19%) will have been born after the year 2000.

Realistically, they will have no historical memory of:

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2. Voting trends