For many young Australians, this election feels like hope.

I sat at a table in a brewery in Sydney on Saturday night when my phone went off with a Mamamia Instagram notification. There was a new post, telling me and my Millennial friends that Anthony Albanese had been elected Prime Minister. 

I watched on throughout the pub as phone notifications went off en masse. A very new-age way to hear an election get called. But it was also very apt, as this was an election unlike any other.

And it wasn't just different because of the onward march of Trumpism in the United States, or a burgeoning climate crisis that is consistently ignored and minimalised. 

It was an election where, for the first time, young Australians had the power at the voting box. As a young Australian myself who spoke to many on the night, I saw the first threads of hope as the announcement was made. 

Not necessarily because they're all huge Labor or Albanese fans — there are certainly young people who lean toward more Liberal ideologies — but because they've seen their votes reflected in the outcome this time.

At least, that's what the statistics say.

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You see, at each election, young Australians have headed to the ballot box to cast their votes. To have their say.

According to the Australian Youth Barometer, the five most pressing issues for young Australians are housing affordability, employment and financial security, climate change, inequality and discrimination (including based on gender, race, sexuality and disability), as well as better funding for health and mental health.

But, in previous elections, the balance of power has been with Australia's largest generation, the Baby Boomers, who have tended to vote more conservatively as a whole.

This year, Millennials and Gen Z have overtaken Baby Boomers as the largest voting bloc, with Reuters reporting that approximately 43 per cent of our 18 million registered voters came from these generations, surpassing Boomers as the most dominant demographic.

What does this mean? The opinions of young people just became more valuable in politics, and our future leaders will need to actually listen, and ease generational inequality.

And yes, generational inequality does exist. And no, it's not because young people eat too much avocado on toast. Most young people aren't reaching the same milestones as their parents. 

According to government data, today's 30-34 year-olds are the first age group in more than 27 years where most people don't own a house. 

Unprecedented economic and social challenges have delayed or redefined typical 'life goals' for young people. Rising housing costs, stagnant wage growth, and a shifting job market have forced younger Australians to adapt, often by delaying marriage, starting families later, and seeking new paths to financial security.

And many young people are tired. 

And many are disillusioned. 

But perhaps, this election is a turning point. 

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Looking at votes by demographic, it's clear that young people are having their say, and that it is finally holding sway. 

For example, Albanese's votes largely came from renters, mortgage holders, young voters, the university-educated and those in middle-income brackets, while Dutton's votes largely came from rural and older Australians, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Both party leaders tried to tempt young people this year —with a series of cringe memes and DJ booth appearances (here's looking at you Adam Bandt). 

However, it was policies such as Albanese's promise to forgive 20 per cent of everyone's remaining HECS debt that really got him over the line with younger voters. 

Noting, of course, that HECS debt was sold to many young people as a 'tax-free loan' but has in fact been indexed in line with inflation (which is much higher than wage growth). 

Other parts of Albanese's campaign also translated: bolstering medicare, upholding Australia's climate pledges, being in favour of female bodily autonomy. 

In saying that, young people are not inherently 'Labor voters'.  In fact, there was also a big swing to minor parties among young people, including to the Teal independents. 

This happened across the board, with the three primary parties' vote (Labor, Liberal and Nationals), plunging to a new low, at just 66.7 per cent (per Sunday's count). 

The message is clear. Young people had their say at the ballot box, and it translated into the final result. So, future leaders should take note that they ignore this generation at their own peril. 

Young people had their say at the ballot box, and it translated into the final result. Image: Getty.

It's still important to note that neither party is really doing enough to keep young people happy. 

Young voters told Reuters that they feel disillusioned and dissatisfied with the major parties and their inaction on the issues that impact them. 

Young people also don't tend to fall into the neat categorisation of 'Labor' and 'Liberal', encouraging them to look outwards to other parties who align with more of their values. They also tend to be more 'volatile' voters. 

They won't just vote for the same party for years on end, out of principle. They'll listen to what the leaders intend to do and change their vote accordingly. 

Tacit support for one or the other seems to be a thing of the past. 

And now, their 'volatile' votes are actually pushing the needle. 

As a young person, this election feels like a win for the little guy. 

For the young Aussie battlers who have spent a fortune on university only to enter a career paying pennies. Who can't get a bulk-billed medical appointment and are being priced out of the housing market by foreign investors or people buying their umpteenth investment property. 

Those who are forced to rent at exorbitant prices and cough up hundreds at the supermarket and dwindle their savings despite working a full-time job. 

Whose parents have now also started to vote on their behalf because they realise the metaphorical financial Everest they still need to climb in order to have any semblance of the stability they enjoyed at age 30. 

Parents who want to see their adult children get married, with a home to welcome their grandchildren into. 

This election was also a shining beacon of hope for what politics could look like in the future. Unlike the vicious insults being traded in the United States' recent election, both Albanese and Dutton responded to the result not with derision, but with praise for the other. 

In fact, it may have been the moment of biggest approval for Dutton, which came too late, as he told his rival Albanese that his mother would be proud of him, and his seat's winner, Ali France, that her late son would be watching on. 

And, of course, who can forget when Albanese told a Dutton-booing crowd to stop? That he was not going to stand for that kind of disrespect. 

All around, this election feels like a turning point.  

That our leaders have an iota of decency toward one another.

That our country's future is finally being decided by the people that will have to live with these decisions for decades to come.

Featured image: Getty.