Better Prime Minister
Q. Who do you think would make the better Prime Minister out of Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott?
|
5 Jul 2010 |
14 June 2011 |
12 Dec |
12 Jun 2012 |
10 Dec |
14 Jan 2013 |
11 Feb |
11 Mar |
15 Apr |
13 May |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| Julia Gillard |
53% |
41% |
39% |
37% |
43% |
42% |
39% |
39% |
37% |
39% |
86% |
2% |
76% |
| Tony Abbott |
26% |
36% |
35% |
37% |
34% |
33% |
37% |
39% |
39% |
41% |
3% |
84% |
2% |
| Don’t know |
21% |
24% |
26% |
26% |
23% |
24% |
24% |
22% |
24% |
20% |
11% |
13% |
22% |
39% (up 2%) believe Julia Gillard would make the better Prime Minister and 41% (up 2%) prefer Tony Abbott.
Men prefer Tony Abbott 44%/35% and women prefer Julia Gillard 43%/38%.
NDIS
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the Government’s decision to implement the National Disability Insurance Scheme to be funded by increasing the Medicare levy from 1.5% to 2%?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| Total approve |
57% |
77% |
45% |
75% |
| Total disapprove |
30% |
14% |
42% |
18% |
| Strongly approve |
20% |
37% |
6% |
40% |
| Approve |
37% |
40% |
39% |
35% |
| Disapprove |
17% |
10% |
24% |
12% |
| Strongly disapprove |
13% |
4% |
18% |
6% |
| Don’t know |
13% |
9% |
12% |
7% |
57% approve and 30% disapprove the Government’s decision to implement the National Disability Insurance Scheme to be funded by increasing the Medicare levy from 1.5% to 2%.
A substantial majority of Labor (77%) and Greens voters (75%) approve but Liberal/National voters are split 45% approve/42% disapprove.
Respondents most likely to approve were aged 55+ (68% approve/22% disapprove) and those earning less than $600pw (72%/19%).
House of Representatives
Q. Thinking about the House of Representatives, which of the following do you think would provide the best Government for Australia?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| The governing party has an absolute majority in the House of Representatives |
49% |
47% |
61% |
25% |
| The independents and minor parties hold the balance of power in the House of Representatives |
25% |
28% |
18% |
56% |
| Don’t know |
26% |
24% |
21% |
19% |
49% think that the best Government would be if the governing party has an absolute majority in the House of Representatives while 25% think the independents and minor parties should hold the balance of power.
A majority (56%) of Greens voters would prefer to see the independents and minor parties should hold the balance of power while a majority (61%) of Liberal/National voters think the governing party should have an absolute majority.
The Senate
Q. Now thinking about the Senate, which of the following do you think would provide the best Government for Australia?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| The Government also has a majority in the Senate |
32% |
36% |
39% |
18% |
| The Opposition has a majority in the Senate |
8% |
6% |
11% |
3% |
| The independents and minor parties hold the balance of power in the Senate |
25% |
31% |
15% |
54% |
| It doesn’t matter who has control or balance of power in the Senate |
7% |
4% |
8% |
3% |
| Don’t know |
28% |
23% |
27% |
23% |
32% think that the Government should also have a majority in the Senate while 25% think the independents and minor parties hold the balance of power. 8% think the Opposition should have a majority.
Liberal/National voters were a little more likely to favour the Government having a majority in the Senate (39%) while Greens (54%) and Labor (31%) were more likely to favour the independents and minor parties holding the balance of power.
Rating of Independents
Q. Regardless of how you vote in federal elections, how would you rate the performance of the following Independent MPs in federal parliament?
|
Total good |
Total bad |
Very Good |
Good |
Bad |
Very Bad |
Don’t know |
|
Oct 11 Total Good |
Oct 11 Total Bad |
|
| Rob Oakeshott |
30% |
30% |
6% |
24% |
14% |
16% |
41% |
|
23% |
34% |
| Tony Windsor |
29% |
29% |
7% |
22% |
14% |
15% |
42% |
|
23% |
32% |
| Andrew Wilkie |
28% |
30% |
4% |
24% |
17% |
13% |
42% |
|
24% |
34% |
| Bob Katter |
26% |
41% |
4% |
22% |
19% |
22% |
34% |
|
27% |
36% |
There were mixed opinions about the performance of the independents in Parliament. Respondents were similarly split over the performances of Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor and Andrew Wilkie but somewhat more negative about Bob Katter.
In NSW, Rob Oakeshott was rated 30% good/37% bad and Tony Windsor 29% good/36% bad. In Queensland Bob Katter was rated 33% good/36% bad.
Since this question was last asked in October 2011, the ratings of Rob Oakeshott, Tony Windsor and Andrew Wilkie have improved a little while Bob Katter’s has declined.
Paid parental leave
Q. The Opposition’s parental leave policy is to give new parents up to 26 weeks leave at their current full rate of pay (up to $150,000) to be paid for by a 1.5 per cent levy on large companies. The Labor Government’s policy gives new parents 18 weeks leave at the minimum wage rate paid for by the Government. Which scheme do you support most?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| The Government’s scheme |
34% |
60% |
17% |
39% |
| The Opposition’s scheme |
24% |
13% |
36% |
30% |
| Neither |
31% |
18% |
38% |
21% |
| Don’t know |
11% |
9% |
10% |
10% |
34% support the Government’s paid parental leave policy and 24% support the Opposition’s. 31% support neither policy.
The Government’s policy was preferred over the Opposition’s 41% to 24% by those aged 35-44 while those aged under 35 favoured the Opposition’s policy 38% to 34%.
Those earning less than $1,000 pw favoured the Government’s policy 40% to 19% while those earning $1,600+ pw slightly favoured the Opposition’s policy (33% to 29%).
Federal politics – voting intention
Q. If a Federal Election was held today to which party will you probably give your first preference vote? If not sure, which party are you currently leaning toward?
Q. If don’t know -Well which party are you currently leaning to?
Sample size = 1,840 respondents
| First preference/leaning to |
Election 21 Aug 10 |
4 weeks ago 8/4/13 |
2 weeks ago 22/4/13 |
Last week 29/4/13 |
This week 6/5/13 |
| Liberal |
|
47% |
44% |
45% |
44% |
| National |
|
2% |
3% |
3% |
4% |
| Total Lib/Nat |
43.6% |
49% |
48% |
48% |
48% |
| Labor |
38.0% |
32% |
34% |
34% |
33% |
| Greens |
11.8% |
9% |
9% |
9% |
9% |
| Other/Independent |
6.6% |
9% |
9% |
9% |
10% |
| 2PP |
Election 21 Aug 10 |
4 weeks ago |
2 weeks ago |
Last week
|
This week |
| Total Lib/Nat |
49.9% |
56% |
55% |
55% |
56% |
| Labor |
50.1% |
44% |
45% |
45% |
44% |
NB. The data in the above tables comprise 2-week averages derived from the first preference/leaning to voting questions. Respondents who select ‘don’t know’ are not included in the results. The two-party preferred estimate is calculated by distributing the votes of the other parties according to their preferences at the 2010 election. These estimates have a confidence interval of approx. plus or minus 2-3%.
Australia’s national debt
Q. Compared to other developed countries, do you think Australia’s national debt is higher, lower or about the same?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| Total higher |
25% |
17% |
33% |
19% |
| Total lower |
48% |
58% |
39% |
57% |
| A lot higher |
9% |
4% |
13% |
3% |
| A little higher |
16% |
13% |
20% |
16% |
| About the same |
18% |
16% |
19% |
18% |
| A little lower |
29% |
27% |
28% |
27% |
| A lot lower |
19% |
31% |
11% |
30% |
| Don’t know |
10% |
9% |
8% |
6% |
25% think that Australia’s National debt is higher than other developed countries and 48% think it is lower – 18% think it about the same.
A majority of Labor (58%) and Greens voters (57%) think our debt is lower than other countries while Liberal National voters were split – 39% think it is lower and 33% think it is higher.
There were no substantial differences by demographics.
Reason for Australia’s national debt
Q. What do you think is the main reason for Australia’s national debt?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| The world economy |
26% |
44% |
10% |
49% |
| The high Australian dollar |
17% |
31% |
9% |
19% |
| Government are poor economic managers |
46% |
12% |
76% |
19% |
| Don’t know |
11% |
14% |
5% |
14% |
46% think the main reason for Australia’s national debt is that the Government are poor economic managers. 26% think it is due to the world economy and 17% blame the high Australian dollar.
Labor (44%) and Greens (49%) voters are more likely to blame the world economy, while 76% of Liberal/National voters say it is because the Government are poor economic managers.
Importance of reducing debt
Q. Do you think it is more important to reduce Australia’s national debt or to maintain government spending on services and projects?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Australia’s debt higher |
Australia’s debt about the same |
Australia’s debt lower |
|
| More important to reduce debt |
46% |
26% |
67% |
31% |
63% |
49% |
37% |
| More important to maintain spending |
40% |
61% |
23% |
59% |
28% |
33% |
51% |
| Don’t know |
14% |
14% |
10% |
11% |
9% |
18% |
12% |
46% think it is more important to reduce Australia’s debt and 40% think it is more important to maintain Government spending on services and projects.
61% of Labor voters and 59% of Greens voters favour maintaining spending while 67% of Liberal/national voters think it is more important to reduce debt.
63% of those who think Australia’s debt is high compared to other countries think we should reduce debt while 51% of those who think our debt is low think we should maintain spending.
Raise taxes or cut spending
Q. Do you think the Government should raise taxes or cut spending to reduce the national debt or should they do neither?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| Raise taxes |
13% |
23% |
5% |
28% |
| Reduce spending |
55% |
34% |
74% |
40% |
| Neither |
20% |
27% |
14% |
20% |
| Don’t know |
12% |
16% |
7% |
12% |
In order to reduce debt, 55% think the Government should reduce spending and only 13% think they should raise taxes. 20% think they should do neither.
74% of Liberal/National voters think the Government should reduce spending compared to 40% of Greens voters and 34% of Labor voters.
Essential Report
Two Party Preferred: 20 May 2013
In this week's report:
3Q: Latest episodes
-
Essential Report with EMC’s Peter Lewis and Jackie Woods
Comments19 Sep 2012Lewis and Woods talk through this week’s polling numbers: voting intention, leader attributes, drug laws in Australia, and more…
-
Are we ready for the grey revolution?
Comments12 Sep 2012Ken Morrison says our cities need to be transformed for our ageing population – and it’s not solely about nursing homes.
-
Ships, trains and submarines — can we build them here?
Comments11 Sep 2012Tim Ayres wishes Clive Palmer and other mining giants would give local manufacturers a go instead of heading overseas.
-
Do we undervalue our public sector innovations?
Comments11 Sep 2012Nadine Flood questions whether governments take our science and other publicly funded breakthroughs for granted.
Essential Tags
Recent Comments
- Workers Care About Kids At Risk on Would You Ask Your Grandmother To Live On $35 A Day?
- Morgan on Federal politics – voting intention
- Krusha on Time for Activities
- Jonathan Tasini on We Can’t Eat Austerity
- Clarkejeremy3 on We Can’t Eat Austerity
