Urban–rural political divide
Oceania
### Oceania

#### Australia

Australia has two major political parties, namely the centre\-left [Australian Labor Party](/wiki/Australian_Labor_Party "Australian Labor Party") and the centre\-right [Coalition](/wiki/Coalition_%28Australia%29 "Coalition (Australia)"). The Coalition is a political grouping and formal coalition between two centre\-right parties: the [Liberal Party](/wiki/Liberal_Party_of_Australia "Liberal Party of Australia") (which is mostly present in urban areas) and the [National Party](/wiki/National_Party_of_Australia "National Party of Australia") (which is present in regional and rural areas). The Coalition is formal on the federal level and in two states ([New South Wales](/wiki/New_South_Wales "New South Wales") and [Victoria](/wiki/Victoria_%28state%29 "Victoria (state)")) but is informal in [Western Australia](/wiki/Western_Australia "Western Australia") and does not exist in [South Australia](/wiki/South_Australia "South Australia") (where the Nationals have limited activity), [Tasmania](/wiki/Tasmania "Tasmania") (where the Nationals have limited activity and are unregistered), and the [Australian Capital Territory](/wiki/Australian_Capital_Territory "Australian Capital Territory") (where the Nationals do not exist); the two parties have merged in [Queensland](/wiki/Queensland "Queensland") (as the [Liberal National Party](/wiki/Liberal_National_Party_of_Queensland "Liberal National Party of Queensland")) and the [Northern Territory](/wiki/Northern_Territory "Northern Territory") (as the [Country Liberal Party](/wiki/Country_Liberal_Party "Country Liberal Party")).

There is a political divide between urban (particularly inner\-city) regions and the rest of the country (regional, rural, and remote areas). This divide is present nationwide except in the Australian Capital Territory. Regional and rural areas, as well as the outer\-suburbs of many cities (namely [Sydney](/wiki/Sydney "Sydney")), are more conservative than inner\-city electorates. Aside from the two major parties, the right\-wing [Pauline Hanson's One Nation](/wiki/Pauline_Hanson%27s_One_Nation "Pauline Hanson's One Nation") party gathers most of its support in regional areas, particularly in areas with a history of mining, such as the [Hunter Region](/wiki/Hunter_Region "Hunter Region") in New South Wales and several regions of Queensland, while the left\-wing [Australian Greens](/wiki/Australian_Greens "Australian Greens") gather most of their support from progressive voters, especially younger voters, in the inner\-city suburbs of capital cities (especially [Melbourne](/wiki/Melbourne "Melbourne"), [Brisbane](/wiki/Brisbane "Brisbane"), and [Canberra](/wiki/Canberra "Canberra"), as well as to a lesser extent Sydney). [Teal independents](/wiki/Teal_independents "Teal independents") have also seen a rise in support in inner\-city parts of Sydney, Melbourne, and [Perth](/wiki/Perth "Perth") that normally vote Liberal, as well as in inner\-city [Hobart](/wiki/Hobart "Hobart").

Historically, the most conservative states on the federal level are the northern states and territories (Queensland, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory) and Tasmania. In modern times, Queensland is the most conservative while Tasmania is becoming more conservative\-leaning, whereas Western Australia has shifted to the Labor Party, delivering [Anthony Albanese](/wiki/Anthony_Albanese "Anthony Albanese") a victory at the [2022 Australian federal election](/wiki/2022_Australian_federal_election "2022 Australian federal election"). These two states are unique in that they are the only states where less than 50% of the population lives in the capital city (Brisbane and Hobart, respectively) and were considered the states that delivered [Scott Morrison](/wiki/Scott_Morrison "Scott Morrison") a victory at the [2019 Australian federal election](/wiki/2019_Australian_federal_election "2019 Australian federal election"). The Nationals are dominant in regional and rural areas, while the Liberals are dominant in many outer\-suburbs. In Sydney, there is a north–south divide; traditionally, parts of Sydney north of [Sydney Harbour](/wiki/Sydney_Harbour "Sydney Harbour") vote Liberal (with some exceptions), while areas south of Sydney Harbour vote Labor (with the exception of the [Sutherland Shire](/wiki/Sutherland_Shire "Sutherland Shire"), which includes the federal seats of [Cook](/wiki/Division_of_Cook "Division of Cook") and [Hughes](/wiki/Division_of_Hughes "Division of Hughes")). Since the 2022 federal election, the Liberal Party holds just three federal seats in Sydney that are located south of Sydney Harbour: [Banks](/wiki/Division_of_Banks "Division of Banks"), Cook, and Hughes.

In regional and rural electorates, the Coalition holds 31 federal seats, while Labor holds just 12, none of which are in Queensland, Western Australia, or South Australia, and only two ([Franklin](/wiki/Division_of_Franklin "Division of Franklin") and [Lyons](/wiki/Division_of_Lyons "Division of Lyons")) in Tasmania, the former including parts of Hobart. In comparison, the Coalition holds only a few federal seats in the capital cities: seven in Sydney, three in Melbourne, four in Brisbane, two in Perth, and one in [Adelaide](/wiki/Adelaide "Adelaide"). They hold none in Canberra, Hobart, or [Darwin](/wiki/Darwin%2C_Northern_Territory "Darwin, Northern Territory"). Nevertheless, [liberal conservatism](/wiki/Liberal_conservatism "Liberal conservatism") is the dominant form of conservatism and is the ideology of the Coalition, so the regional\-rural divide does not affect issues such as [same\-sex marriage in Australia](/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_Australia "Same-sex marriage in Australia"), which was legalized under the Coalition government of [Malcolm Turnbull](/wiki/Malcolm_Turnbull "Malcolm Turnbull"). Most electorates, regional, rural, and metropolitan, recorded a majority vote in favour of the [2018 Marriage Law Postal Survey](/wiki/2018_Marriage_Law_Postal_Survey "2018 Marriage Law Postal Survey"). The majority of electorates that recorded a majority opposition vote were electorates in certain outer\-suburbs of capital cities (namely [Greater Western Sydney](/wiki/Greater_Western_Sydney "Greater Western Sydney") but also parts of Melbourne) with large [Christian](/wiki/Christianity_in_Australia "Christianity in Australia") and [Muslim](/wiki/Islam_in_Australia "Islam in Australia") communities. While some of these were Liberal\-held, many of them were Labor\-held. Only three regional electorates recorded a majority opposition vote, all of which were in Queensland: [Groom](/wiki/Division_of_Groom "Division of Groom") (held by the LNP), [Kennedy](/wiki/Division_of_Kennedy "Division of Kennedy") (held by the right\-wing [Katter's Australian Party](/wiki/Katter%27s_Australian_Party "Katter's Australian Party")), and [Maranoa](/wiki/Division_of_Maranoa "Division of Maranoa") (held by the LNP).

The [2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum](/wiki/2023_Australian_Indigenous_Voice_referendum "2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum") results demonstrated some evidence of an urban–rural political divide. The four electorates returning more than 70% of votes in favour were the namesake electorates centred on the [CBDs](/wiki/CBDs "CBDs") of [Melbourne](/wiki/Division_of_Melbourne "Division of Melbourne"), [Sydney](/wiki/Division_of_Sydney "Division of Sydney"), and [Canberra](/wiki/Division_of_Canberra "Division of Canberra"), as well as Albanese's inner Sydney electorate of [Grayndler](/wiki/Division_of_Grayndler "Division of Grayndler"). By contrast, the only five electorates to return less than 20% of votes in favour— [Maranoa](/wiki/Division_of_Maranoa "Division of Maranoa"), [Flynn](/wiki/Division_of_Flynn "Division of Flynn"), [Capricornia](/wiki/Division_of_Capricornia "Division of Capricornia"), [Hinkler](/wiki/Division_of_Hinkler "Division of Hinkler"), and [Dawson](/wiki/Division_of_Dawson "Division of Dawson")—were all rural electorates in southern and central Queensland.


Did the urban-rural divide show up in the results of the 2023 Australian Indigenous Voice referendum?