“The Allan government is desperate to avoid a public debate on its divisive treaty because barely a third of Victorians support it. Just like at the Voice referendum, Victorians simply do not want to be divided by race,” said Margaret Chambers, Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs.
Released today, a new IPA poll surveyed the attitude of Victorians towards the Allan government’s treaty. The polling was undertaken by independent research company, Fox & Hedgehog, of 1,810 Victorians with a margin of error of 2.7 per cent, which found:
- Only 37 per cent of Victorians support a treaty between the Victorian Government and Victorian Aboriginal groups. 42 per cent outright oppose it, and 21 per cent were unsure.
- When forced to choose between supporting or opposing the treaty, 52 per cent oppose the treaty with 48 per cent supporting it.
- This aligns with the Victorian 54 per cent No vote at the Voice to Parliament referendum.
- 61 per cent of Victorians opposed the treaty when presented basic, factual information about the proposal from the government’s own documents, with only 39 per cent supporting it in a forced Yes/No response.
- This decline is driven by Labor voters, whose support for treaty fell from 66 per cent to 52 per cent after finding out more about what treaty would mean.
- When forced to choose between supporting or opposing the treaty, 79 per cent of Coalition voters are opposed to the treaty
- Only 21 per cent of Coalition voters supported the treaty in a forced Yes/No question where no additional information about the Treaty is provided.
- Only 26 per cent of Victorians support the “Voice to Parliament” body, the Gellung Warl, being independent from the direction or control of the Victorian government.
- 51 per cent oppose and 23 per cent were unsure.
“Victorians have once again sent a clear message that they believe in equality and do not want their state to be permanently divided by race,” Ms Chambers said.
Support for the Victorian government’s Statewide Treaty Bill falls even further when voters learn what is at stake and the vast, undemocratic powers that will be granted to the Gellung Warl, which will effectively become a new, fourth arm of the state government.
“When Victorians are told, in the Allan government’s own words, what the treaty will do to the state support dramatically drops, with Labor voters leading the way,” Ms Chambers said.
“Victorians simply do not support the unaccountable and unrepresentative Gellung Warl having limitless power over the state of Victoria.”
“The results show that if a strong, anti-treaty campaign was led by the Coalition, this issue could turn toxic for the already unpopular Allan government, with Labor and Coalition voters most opposed to the treaty,” Ms Chambers said.
Previous IPA research found that the number one reason Australians rejected the Voice to Parliament referendum because of their belief that it would have divided the community. It is clear Victorians are echoing the same sentiment.
“Victorians simply do not want their community to be divided where some have extra votes and special privileges because of their race. Victorians have spoken, and they reject the attempt by the state government to create a race-based chamber of parliament,” Ms Chambers said.
To download the IPA’s polling data click here.
