Royal drama boosts support for Australian republic, new poll says

The Resolve Political Monitor polled 1,606 eligible voters Tuesday through Sunday, a time when media coverage included more stories about the royal family, the debate over the indigenous vote and whether Australia Day should be a public holiday and on January 26 should take place. The results have an error rate of 2.6 percentage points.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has prioritized a referendum on the Indigenous vote in Parliament later this year and has not committed to a referendum on the Republic, but the Australian Monarchist League has criticized him for not appointing a Deputy Minister for the Republic, Matt Thistlethwaite , appointed .

The Resolve Political Monitor found a national majority for a republic in a poll a year ago when it asked a referendum-like question in which respondents could only say “yes” or “no” to a republic. In that poll, 54 percent said yes. In a similar question after the Queen’s death, however, this dropped to 46 percent nationwide.

The most recent poll included a “tie” option for voters, but showed an increase in core support for the republic compared to the January and September polls.

Australia’s republic movement, which elected former Socceroo Craig Foster as leader in November, avoided campaigning after the Queen’s death but said this week it had always expected its cause to bounce back.

“The polls over the past year have not worried us in the least. We knew that once the reality of King Charles set in, support would return with a vengeance toward a republic,” said Sandy Biar, ARM national director.

“The royals are too busy fighting among themselves to represent Australia or to defend our interests.”

Amid a broader debate about national identity on Australia Day, the latest poll found that 75 per cent of voters supported the argument for a national holiday but were flexible on whether it had to be a public holiday or the mandatory day for citizenship ceremonies.

The poll urged Australians to put aside any feelings they might have about January 26 and look at the broader question of whether Australia should have a national day, resulting in 75 per cent backing the idea agreed.

Loading

Just 7 percent disagreed with the idea of ​​Australia Day, while a further 18 percent were undecided.

Support for Australia Day was stronger among men, with 79 per cent of male voters backing the idea compared to 72 per cent of female voters.

Older voters also showed greater support for the National Day, with 78 percent of voters aged 55 and over in favor, compared with 74 percent of voters aged 35 to 54 and the same result among 18 to 34 year olds.

The question read: “Putting aside for a moment any feelings you may have about Australia Day or January 26th, do you agree or disagree with the idea of ​​Australia having such a national holiday?”

Loading

Support was 80 per cent among Coalition voters and 76 per cent among Labor voters.

Amid the growing debate over whether or not Australians should work on National Day, the Resolve Political Monitor found that 87 per cent of respondents said they did not want to work on Australia Day.