Issues affecting younger people is one of the clearest divides as we head to election day. Beyond the housing and cost of living headlines, Labor has focused on youth mental health and cutting student debt, while the Coalition has focused on youth crime, with Peter Dutton again pledging to ‘get tough’ on youth crime once again while campaigning in the Northern Territory over the weekend.
In a political landscape increasingly influenced by younger Australians, Millennials and Gen Z have emerged as a powerful voting bloc in the 2025 federal election. Together, they now represent 47 per cent of the electorate, with more than 90 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds registered to vote – one of the highest youth enrolment rates in Australian history.
Young Australians are also among the most issue-focused and disillusioned voters. According to the 2024 Australian Youth Barometer, their top concerns are housing affordability, employment and climate change. Many feel they are being left behind, burdened by rising education, housing and living costs, while paying more tax than previous generations.
This sense of frustration is especially strong in regional and remote communities, where youth services are often limited and, across the community, residents feel politically overlooked and forgotten about. In New England and Parkes, housing and education availability, rather than affordability, and pathways to taking their place in community through accessible education and training options as well as employment, emerge as greater concerns locally.
“I didn’t do anything” – young people feel stigmatised
The main difference in how young voters are feeling locally is the intense debate about youth crime in our region, driven largely by National Party politicians at the State level, and the perception by young people that they are being blamed for issues not of their making.
Jacob, a 19 year old voter from the Upper Hunter, told New England Times he feels like he is not trusted by other people just because of how he looks.
“I don’t know exactly when it started, but these days I just go in to a shop or whatever and I feel like I’m always being watched. Like they’re expecting me to steal stuff.”
“I was just walking home a different way after a few drinks last week and stopped to tie up my shoe lace, and this guy came out the front of his house and yelled at me to get away from his house or he’s going to call the cops.”
“I don’t think crime has gone up that much, but even if it has, I don’t want to be treated like this. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
21 year old single mum Melanie said she has been shocked at how she has been treated by some locals, after moving from Western Sydney to Moree – a location chosen purely because it had a house she could afford to rent.
“The actual crime was much worse where I came from, but people out here are just obsessed with it. And it seems the more they bang on about it, the more ‘cool’ it becomes, and the more it happens.”
“I think crime comes hand in hand with living in a place that’s affordable for someone like me, people gotta eat, but it’s the joyriding and burning cars and stuff that I think puts people on edge.”
“All I know is that I get treated like a criminal pretty much everywhere I go. Unless I’ve got my little one with me, in which case I’m actually treated pretty well.”
Melanie says that the way she is treated by some people in town is affecting her mental health, and may force her to leave.
“No one wants to be somewhere that they feel this unwelcome, unwanted. It’s just horrible.”
Youth Mental Health a high priority for Labor
If re-elected, the Albanese government has pledged to invest $1 billion in public mental health services, particularly for young people. The package includes $225 million to build or upgrade 31 Medicare mental health centres, more than $200 million for 58 new or improved headspace centres, $500 million for 20 youth specialist centres targeting complex needs, and $90 million to fund more than 1,200 new training places for mental health professionals and peer workers.
“We want every young person to have access to free, quality mental health care when they need it, no matter where they live,” Labor Candidate for Parkes Nathan Fell said.
At just 30 years of age, Fell is one of the youngest candidates on the ballot nationwide, and may benefit from the disillusioned youth vote in the vast and fragmented Parkes electorate. His different perspective has already delivered one of the most original and insightful policy ideas of the campaign, the need to provide alternative education and training options for people who don’t learn by reading books.
While nominated very late in the campaign, Fell has done thousands of kilometres since nomination trying to campaign as best he can and meet as many people as possible. He says the issues is hearing about around the electorate are complex, and the problems faced in each community can be really different.
“I wish I’d had a couple more months [on the campaign trail], because almost every conversation I have there’s two or three more issues that need to be dealt with.”
Coalition focused on youth crime
AS part of the Coalition’s ‘crack down’ on crime, there has been a significant focus on intervention and diversion programs to go along with the fear of crime rhetoric.
Member for New England Barnaby Joyce has announced a $600,000 investment to upgrade the BackTrack Youth Works Shed in Armidale, aiming to turn the outdated facility into a modern youth hub. The project builds on the success of BackTrack, a well-established youth support organisation that has helped vulnerable young people since 2005 through flexible education, counselling, employment programs and holistic support.
“With this investment, we’re giving kids another chance, off the street and into work and skills,” said Member for New England Barnaby Joyce.
The redevelopment will enhance the centre’s ability to offer accredited training, alternative schooling, youth leadership development and wellbeing services, including drug and alcohol counselling, food support and transport. The redesign will be guided by BackTrack’s Youth Leadership Crew to ensure the space meets the needs of young people.
BackTrack CEO Marcus Watson said the funding would allow the organisation to grow its impact across the region.
“These crucial upgrades will help us strengthen our operations and expand our reach across regional and rural NSW,” he said.
Nationals candidate for Parkes Jamie Chaffey has been focused on youth crime long before he was a candidate. In his previous role as Chair of the Country Mayors Association of NSW, led a push for a parliamentary inquiry into regional crime, which held hearings in Bourke, Broken Hill and Kempsey last October. But he says the lack of follow-up has been frustrating.
“There was talk of an interim report being released to get the ball rolling on the committee’s recommendations for reforms that would make a difference,” he said.
“Where is that report? And why weren’t hearings held in more towns?”
He has also pledged to fight for more intervention and diversionary programs if elected, including the Boys To The Bush program.
“It’s well known that the earlier the intervention, the greater chance of reform,” Mr Chaffey said.
“Stopping youth crime isn’t a one approach solution, that’s why investing in programs like Boys to the Bush are so important to stop the crime before it happens.”
Hard to predict how youth will vote
The focus on issues rather than party loyalty, combined with general disillusionment, means that younger voters are very unpredictable in this election – and there’s now enough of them to threaten the hold the Nationals have on the seats – if they have a desirable candidate to vote for.
While most younger voters lean left, either to Labor or the Greens, a significant proportion of younger men are going right – typically beyond the Coalition to the minor parties.
And they are more and more looking to the fringes while the major parties miss the mark, or voting for personalities, not parties.
Melanie says she doesn’t yet know how she will vote, and is waiting for someone to talk to her about the things she cares about.
“I’m never going to be buying a house, I want affordable rent. I don’t know how you do that, but I know that’s my biggest pain.”
First time voter Jacob currently thinks he won’t vote for anyone.
“I know I’m supposed to vote for someone, and I’d probably vote Labor or Greens, but nice older ladies just aren’t doing it for me, and people like Barnaby keep treating me like shit.”
“Maybe it will make more sense when I’m a bit older and have done this a few times, but honestly I don’t know how you’re supposed to choose between a bunch of people who all couldn’t care less about you.”
Follow all the New England Times coverage of the federal election here or have your say on Engage
See more about the race in New England here
See more about the race in Parkes here