Birthplace: the new political divide

It is well known that the result of the Federal elections in 1996 and 2001 were influenced by voter attitudes to ‘vision’ and security issues and that the Coalition was the main beneficiary. This article shows that the swing to the Coalition associated with nationalistic attitudes on these issues was particularly strong amongst Australian-born voters. As a consequence, birthplace appears to have been a significant factor in shaping Federal electoral outcomes in 1996 and 2001. Copyright. Monash University and the author/s