The Voice: try and understand it
The official Voice referendum booklets did the rounds in the mail over the past few weeks, and what stood out most was the two reasons given for the 'No' argument, which were 'risky' and 'unknown'.
Unfortunately, this clever use of evoking uncertainty and fear cuts right to the heart of Australian culture. There has never been a better time for a “Yes” movement, according to Howard Parry-Husbands, CEO of Pollinate.
Despite what you might think, Australians aren’t that good with uncertainty.
The Voice, shrouded in a veil of uncertainty, evokes our deepest cultural fears about change and an unknown future which in turn evokes a fundamental human aversion to loss. Put simply, uncertainty makes us cautious because we worry that it could be a danger to our comfortable way of life.
Our recent research on the Voice (conducted in mid-August) showed that more than 50% of people agreed with the statement “many Australians will say ‘no’ to the Voice because they fear they will lose power”. Loss aversion wields a profound psychological influence over other factors as it taps into our primal instinct to avoid pain and sustain survival, thereby compelling people to prioritise the prevention of losses over the acquisition of any gains.
Humanity is also a profoundly social species: we tend to act as a herd and follow our leaders. Politicians evoke fear to galvanise people against something and a feeling of loss; just think of the “they are coming for your utes” play in Australian politics in 2019. This time around it’s the same just with slightly different words: “you will lose out if the Voice passes”.
Our research also discovered that 68% of Australians think the Voice will fail. Why? Because fear is pervasive. Like the recent catastrophic bush fires, people can smell the fear and uncertainty on the breeze. The herd is twitching and once a herd stampedes, it is difficult to stop.
This is where the “Yes” campaign needs to fight fire with fire, not flee. Australia needs a “Yes” movement. Right now, our research shows that not enough people are talking about the positive aspects of Voice. Currently, 47% of people believe the Voice is not being talked about enough – and 23% of people in our research sample had not even heard of the Voice!
The ‘reasons to vote no” argument.
The announcement that John Farnham’s iconic You’re The Voice is the anthem of the “Yes” campaign is a cracking start.
We must capitalise on this momentum, because if people start to see “Yes” posters in every street, on every door, hear the Voice being talked about on the radio, they will know that there is a national discussion taking place and, more importantly, they will see that many people are not afraid. If the social norm is about “Yes”, then they will want to join the “Yes” herd. Being part of something, committing to action resolves uncertainty.
If people are hearing that their friends, family members and work colleagues are voting “Yes”, they will start to question why. If our everyday lived experience, our conversations and our social media are full of hopeful, positive narratives about the Voice, then we will start to feel safe with the inevitability of change and the opportunities for improvement that can only come with change. If we see “Yes” everywhere, if we hear people talking about “Yes”, then we will start to think that this is the herd, this is the momentum and that “Yes” is our destiny.
This could well be Australia’s Brexit moment. Let’s learn from it. If individually we believe that the Voice is an opportunity to change for good, we must be vocal about our support. It all starts with a conversation.
