By Holly Hales

One-third of young Australians say they are willing to commit violence, send threatening messages to MPs or vandalise government offices in support of a cause they care about. 

A new survey by the Susan McKinnon Foundation quizzed 3000 voters across Australia on their attitudes to political polarisation and social cohesion.

The majority, 55 per cent, said Australia has become more divided compared to five years ago, with 27 per cent saying they feel the country is extremely or very divided.

Generational differences about how to deal with views on social justice were stark, with between two to four per cent of people over the age of 55 backing similar responses to their young counterparts.

One in three Gen Z voters and a quarter of Millennial voters said they were prepared to support actions including encouraging or using violence, sending threatening or intimidating messages to members of Parliament, damaging property, vandalising government offices and lying to advance a cause they cared about.

Program lead at the Susan McKinnon Foundation McKinnon Poll Matt Crocker said the survey reflected “some emerging areas of concern”.

“While young people have always been passionate for social change, younger people appear more willing to support some practices that can undermine safety and circumvent our democracy,” he said.

“The high level of support for some of these practices is surprising and concerning.”

A bare majority of Australians believe both extreme left views (51 per cent) and extreme right views (53 per cent) are a serious threat to the country.

However, the research also found that those with stronger political views were more likely to blame the other side.

Seventy-six per cent of those on the left were much more likely to think extreme right views were a problem, while those on the right (71 per cent) were much more likely to think extreme left views were a problem.

Social cohesion holds despite inflation, high migration

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