The Economic Media Centre, which seeks to have different voices injected in our national conversations, particularly when it comes to economics (which in the main tends to be white, middle aged, conservative/centrist tinged men) has asked some Gen Z/Zoomers how they are feeling about the election and issues covered in the campaign. Here are some of those findings:

Imo Kuah 23, is an organiser with Tomorrow Movement and lives in Maribyrnong.

Labor and Liberal are spending billions on submarines and developer handouts while young people struggle to afford housing, find secure jobs, and face a climate crisis,” they said.

We’re here to tell them: the piecemeal solutions they’re offering to the cost of living, housing and climate crises that we face are not good enough.”

Max Stella 26, is a lawyer in Wentworth and tax policy researcher with ThinkForward. 

This election campaign has been deeply disappointing. We have a serious problem of intergenerational inequality in this country. Younger Australians are being denied fair access to the wealth of this country by a tax, housing and superannuation system geared towards the interests of older wealth-holders,” he said.

For too long our leaders have treated us as an afterthought. Now, both parties will have you believe they are finally answering our calls for economic justice. But they’re not. Instead, they’re treating us like mugs. The ALP tells us that 5% deposits will restore our home ownership dreams; but that’s just a recipe for more debt and higher house prices. The Coalition tells us that depleting our super is the answer; yet, this does nothing for the average young Australian who has very little super. 

I’m tired of the gaslighting from the major parties. And I’m worried that our politicians aren’t following the evidence and the expertise. Instead, they seem too scared about what the other will say if they dare propose anything that would actually change our situation. In that sense, despite their bravado, I think both parties are operating from a position of weakness. They are timid. It’s hard to find anyone my age who is inspired by either of the major parties right now.