When an election comes around, most of us know what to do on election day. With various degrees of enthusiasm, we go to the closest polling station, give our details and forged our vote. After a century of compulsory voting, this seems pretty straightforward.
It's easy to forget that not every Australian is used to this process. What when you've never lived in a spot where voting is compulsory? Or when you've moved here from a spot where political engagement is actively discouraged?
This is commonly the case with recent migrants. They could have less political education. This only further disadvantages these groups, who often have already got less social and cultural capital. It also makes our democracy less representative.
According to our research, over 50 percent of Chinese respondents said they didn’t fully understand how Australia's democratic system works. Almost half of our South Asian respondents said the identical.
Diverse political participation
Chinese and South Asian communities are fast growing in Australia. We examined the political education and participation of those population groups.
Civic education is the knowledge needed for somebody to take part in the political processes of a society and interact in informed debates about sociopolitical issues. This may include knowing the right way to vote, the right way to submit a press release to a parliamentary inquiry, or just understanding the structure of presidency.
Morgan Hancock/AAP
Over the course of 2023 and 2024, we surveyed 192 Chinese and South Asian migrants. We also conducted five focus groups. More than 80% of our research participants are first-generation migrants and greater than 90% have lived in Australia for greater than six years. More than 70% of them are Australian residents and subsequently have the suitable to vote.
Our survey found that the Chinese and South Asian communities have various levels of political participation. Some actively campaigned as candidates, while others were hesitant to do extensive research before making political decisions.
The majority of our participants actively eat political news and publicly express their political beliefs. Most also take part in political events resembling petitions, protests, and demonstrations. We found that Chinese migrants have higher levels of political participation in comparison with South Asian communities.
Our polls show that each Chinese and South Asian migrants pay particular attention to the policies and social and political background of candidates when making their voting decision, which is consistent with the concerns of Australian voters typically.
Chinese respondents also consider what the candidates say about China and what their policy preferences are in relation to it. South Asian respondents, however, pay more attention to the fame of every candidate.
Interestingly, shared ethnicity with a candidate plays little role in political decisions, though politically educated respondents are concerned about meaningful representation of their communities.
Our focus groups also show that an absence of political education can lead people to favor candidates who share their cultural heritage without understanding what policies those candidates stand for.
This may potentially end in some parties having only symbolic representation in constituencies where they can’t win.
A challenge to get entangled
Respondents demonstrated various levels of understanding of Australia's democratic system, including political parties, the 2 houses of parliament, and electoral systems in any respect levels.
More than half of Chinese respondents said they don’t fully understand government systems. This lack of information is probably going on account of China's authoritarian system, wherein direct elections are held only on the local level, not on the national level.
Respondents from South Asian communities demonstrated higher levels of political literacy, but almost 50% of them said they didn’t fully understand how Australian politics works.
According to the Australian Election Study 2022Trust in democracy reached a historic low in 2019, reflecting a general trend towards the necessity for more authentic engagement from the political class.
Other research has highlighted that the usage of the Internet for political information only widens the gap between the politically engaged and the uninterested.
The lack of information of Australian politics facilitates the spread of political misinformation and disinformation. This was demonstrated within the 2023 Voice referendum.
It is subsequently comprehensible that nearly 50% of the participants in our study found engaging with Australian politics difficult.
Chinese respondents reported that language barriers were a major problem. Both the Chinese and South Asian communities reported that social exclusion from mainstream Australian society and an absence of shared concerns with non-migrant cohorts were common barriers to their political engagement.
For example, one focus group participant, a South Asian migrant who has lived here for eight years, noted:
I vote on immigration issues, but I'm undecided my white colleagues care.
As a matter of fact, Past surveys show that elderly care, climate change and education are amongst voters' top concerns. However, our research shows that other priorities apply.
Economics and diplomacy are common concerns for our respondents, but our survey also reveals barely different approaches between the Chinese and South Asian communities.
Chinese respondents usually tend to deal with Australian politicians and immigration, while South Asian respondents prioritize human rights, gender equality and social welfare.
How can we help?
Our previous research shows that there’s a lack of organized efforts to extend the political and media competence of naturalized recent immigrants.
A number of dedicated participants are making great efforts online and offline to teach their family and friends, but at the identical time, many are looking for information on unreliable social media platforms.
This study has shown that there are opportunities for organizations working in immigrant communities to leverage the political education of community leaders and members to assist others.
Furthermore, it offers insight into the things political parties could do higher to have interaction more meaningfully, craft their messages to be more tangible, and never take recent migrant communities with no consideration.
image credit : theconversation.com