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Freedom versus law: Where Australians’ preferences lie in COVID lockdowns
Following the nationwide protests over the lockdown restrictions and vaccination mandates, new Roy Morgan data has suggested that there was an increase in the number of Australians who agreed that “freedom is more important than the law”.
Naomi Neilson
In light of those protests, particularly the recent ones that took place in Melbourne over the last fortnight, almost 30 per cent of Australians have indicated that they agree that “freedom is more important than the law”, representing an increase of 8 per cent compared to the March quarter 2020 prior to the start of the pandemic.
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When the pandemic first began, agreement with the statement jumped seven percentage points in the June quarter 2020 to 28.6 per cent of Australians and has since remained between 27 and 30 per cent over the 12 months.
Responding to the jump after the new advocacy efforts, Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine said Melbourne’s protests “were sparked by a decision to enforce mandatory vaccinations for workers in the building and construction industry but are also likely feeding on shifting attitudes caused by the pandemic” in general.
Based on Roy Morgan’s new data, women have driven a larger share of the increase since the pandemic began, but men are more likely to agree with the statement by a significant margin. Around a quarter of women now agree with the statement, representing an increase of 8.4 percentage points from the March quarter.
In analysing how different generations responded to the statement, Roy Morgan found that it is heavily supported among young people. Almost two-fifths of young people in Generation Z agree with the statement, while millennials – those in their 30s and early 40s – represented the biggest increase during the pandemic.
“These two generations are largely comprised of young people in their 20s and 30s who also constitute a large share of workers in the construction industry that drove the protests in Melbourne last week. It’s a fair guess that protesters arguing against mandatory vaccinations and the latest lockdown would be very likely to agree that ‘freedom is more important than the law’,” Ms Levine said.
Other Australians aged 60 and over were the least likely to agree with this statement, and only 18 per cent of baby boomers and 17.2 per cent of pre-boomers agreed, which is less than half the corresponding figure for those aged largely under 30.
“As we approach the key vaccination targets of 70 and 80 per cent over the next few months, the lockdowns will end, restrictions will be eased, and freedom of movement will be restored. It will be interesting to watch whether these views revert to their old levels once we move past lockdowns and restrictions and head towards a federal election early in 2022.”
