Sarah Oliver
Market research company Roy Morgan has released data showing Caroline Springs was a top postcode of areas travelling to the city during protests this year against the state government’s vaccine mandates.
The ‘Heat Map’ shows the home locations of people attending a Melbourne CBD protest on Saturday November 20.
To determine who the protesters were and where they came from, the researchers geofenced the area in front of Victoria’s Parliament House from 11am – 2.30pm on the day.
A geofence is a virtual perimeter around a real-world geographical area which collates data from smart devices in that area.
The devices that were seen in this area during the time period were then profiled by a home location tool to produce the map showing where the protesters had come from.
Chief Executive of Ray Morgan, Michele Levine, said large crowds of protesters have thronged to the Melbourne CBD.
“It should perhaps not be a surprise that those already facing a struggle to make ends meet and get ahead in life are out on the streets protesting government vaccine mandates,” Ms Levine said.
“They tend to be cynical about the motives of authority figures generally and have likely been hit hard by the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
But, she also stated that despite the clear data showing that tens of thousands of Vicotrians are “incensed” by the pandemic, they appear to be at odds with the rest of the state.
A recent poll conducted by Roy Morgan showed that 63.5 per cent of Victorians approve of the way Premier Daniel Andrews is handling his role, and 76 per cent agree that workers should not be able to enter their workplace unless they’re fully vaccinated.
“These figures are very stark and stand in solid opposition to the views put forward by the protesters on the streets of Melbourne over the last few weeks,” Ms Levine said.
Details: bit.ly/3GoIkXv
