YouGov’s public data poll has found that only 20% of Australian voters back opposition leader, Peter Dutton’s call to boycott Woolworths and Big W. Comparatively, 66% of Australians indicate that this is not their main concern, rather they are focused on the supermarket’s excessive price rises.
Dutton’s call comes in response to Woolworths and Big W reporting that they would no longer stock Australia Day specific products due to "a gradual decline in demand for Australia Day merchandise from our stores over recent years". Peter Dutton called for the boycott, accusing Woolworths of "peddling woke agendas" and "trying to cancel Australia Day".
14% of voters said they supported the supermarket’s decision to not stock these items.
Australians across all demographics overwhelmingly said that excessive price increases are their main concern.
Even those who voted ‘No’ for the Voice Referendum rated the rising prices as their primary concern (67%), just higher than the nation’s average (66%).
Paul Smith, YouGov Director of Government, “Excessive price rises at supermarkets is the main concern for Australian voters. Even 67% of those who voted ‘No’ in the Voice referendum see this as the primary issue.
“Our poll shows that Mr Dutton has picked the wrong focus with only one in five voters backing his boycott call. Even Liberals were twice as concerned with excessive pricing, as expressed by 61% of voters, with only 32% backing Dutton’s boycott.”
In light of this, 49% of Australians still think that Australia Day should only be celebrated on January 26. 21% of voters believe that it should be moved to a different day, with 30% believing that a two-day public holiday that celebrates both old and new is a good idea.
Many Australians have a very relaxed, laid-back approach to the public holiday, with 41% of voters who claimed the most important thing about Australia Day was being able to enjoy a day off work.
31% of Aussies say they find participating in Australia Day events is still the most important part of the day.
Methodology: This survey was conducted between 12th of January and 17th January with a sample of 1532. Results are weighted to be representative of the population by age, gender, education, AEC region, household income, weighting by past vote (Federal vote and Voice referendum), with a margin of error of 3.12%. See Australian Polling Council methodology statement for full weightings.
YouGov correctly predicted the result of the recent referendum at 40% Yes, 60% No, and is a founding member of the Australian Polling Council, as well as a global leader in polling research. We are the only polling company to have polled our entire panel of survey participants straight so we can make sure our polls are representative of how Australians vote in the referendum vote.
For further information or comment contact Paul Smith Director of Government paul.smith@yougov.com
