‘I want to see action’: first-time voters bring anger and apathy to the Australian election

University student and first-time voter Tai, 20, from Brisbane, says her neighbourhood was inundated in the recent floods and the climate crisis is the biggest issue for her at the upcoming federal election Photograph: Tai Branco

A record number of voters are heading to the polls on 21 May after Australia recorded the biggest single-day enrolment in history on 18 April, described by the electoral commissioner as a “modern-day democratic miracle”.

Some 17.2 million Australians are now enrolled to vote, more than 96% of eligible voters.