Abbott, Approval of opposition leader, Liberal, opinion on opposition leader
Q. Do you think the Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is spending too much time on activities not related to his job as Opposition Leader?
| % | |
| Spend too much time | 32% |
| Not spending too much time | 45% |
| Don’t know | 23% |
Just under half (45%) of those surveyed think Tony Abbott is not spending too much time on activities not related to his job as Opposition Leader, 32% think he spends too much time on activities not related to his job and 23% don’t know.
Labor voters were more likely to think Tony Abbott is spending too much time on activities not related to his job (50%), while Coalition voters were more likely to think he is not spending too much time on activities not related to his job (76%).
People aged 55 years and over were more likely to think Abbott is not spending too much time on activities not related to his job (53%), as were males (49%). Comments »
Abbott, Approval of opposition leader, opinion on opposition leader, personality traits of opposition leader
Q. Which of the following describe your opinion of the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott?
| 7 Dec 09 | 1 March 10 | Difference | |
| Intelligent | 71% | 71% | – |
| Hard-working | 69% | 69% | – |
| A capable leader | 46% | 49% | +3% |
| Demanding | 53% | 55% | +2% |
| Arrogant | 53% | 53% | – |
| Out of touch with ordinary people | 53% | 50% | -3% |
| Understands the problems facing Australia | 46% | 49% | +3% |
| Visionary | 34% | 33% | -1% |
| Superficial | 42% | 43% | +1% |
| Good in a crisis | 39% | 38% | -1% |
| Narrow-minded | 52% | 57% | +5% |
| Down to earth | 46% | 46% | – |
| Too inflexible | 45% | 49% | +4% |
| Complacent | 31% | 33% | +2% |
| More honest than most politicians | 31% | 34% | +3% |
| Trustworthy | 36% | 38% | +2% |
Since we asked this question in December 2007, Abbott has gained the most points when it comes to appearing narrow minded (+5%) and appearing too inflexible (+4%).
When it comes to positive traits, Abbott has gained some ground in terms of appearing as a capable leader (+3%) who understands the problems facing Australia (+3%) and more honest than most politicians (+3%). Comments »
Abbott, approval, Approval of opposition leader, approval of PM, opinion of opposition leader, opinion of pm, rudd
Q. Which of the following describe your opinion of the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd?
Q. Which of the following describe your opinion of the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott?
| Rudd
1 March 10 |
Abbott
1 March 10 |
Difference (Rudd lead) | |
| Intelligent | 82% | 71% | +11% |
| Hard-working | 77% | 69% | +8% |
| A capable leader | 65% | 49% | +16% |
| Demanding | 55% | 55% | – |
| Arrogant | 45% | 53% | -8% |
| Out of touch with ordinary people | 45% | 50% | +5% |
| Understands the problems facing Australia | 62% | 49% | +13% |
| Visionary | 44% | 33% | +11% |
| Superficial | 46% | 43% | +3 |
| Good in a crisis | 56% | 38% | +18% |
| Narrow-minded | 36% | 57% | -21% |
| Down to earth | 57% | 46% | +11% |
| Too inflexible | 38% | 49% | -11% |
| Complacent | 40% | 33% | +7% |
| More honest than most politicians | 47% | 34% | +13% |
| Trustworthy | 51% | 38% | +13% |
Rudd has his strongest lead over Abbott when it comes to appearing good in a crisis (+18%) and as a capable leader (+16%). People think Rudd is better than Abbott when it comes to understanding the problems facing Australia (+13%), more honest than most politicians (+13%) and trustworthy (+13%).
Rudd trails Abbott most significantly in terms of appearing narrow-minded (-21%), too inflexible (-11%) and arrogant (-8%). Comments »
Abbott, approval, Approval of opposition leader, malcolm turnbull, Turnbull
Q. Do you strongly approve, approve, disapprove or strongly disapprove of the job Tony Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader?
| Malcolm Turnbull | Tony Abbott | ||||||||||
| 9 Feb 09 | 30 Mar 09 | 18 May 09 | 29 Jun 09 | 10 Aug 09 | 28 Sept 09 | 9 Nov 09 | 30 Nov 09 | 14 Dec 09 | 18 Jan 10 | 22 Feb 10 | |
| Strongly approve | 3% | 3% | 2% | 4% | 2% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 7% | 5% | 12% |
| Approve | 29% | 25% | 28% | 20% | 20% | 24% | 26% | 23% | 27% | 32% | 33% |
| Disapprove | 26% | 31% | 28% | 31% | 30% | 35% | 30% | 33% | 18% | 20% | 20% |
| Strongly disapprove | 17% | 17% | 21% | 26% | 28% | 18% | 20% | 22% | 18% | 17% | 16% |
| Don’t know | 24% | 24% | 21% | 19% | 20% | 21% | 20% | 19% | 31% | 26% | 18% |
| Total approve | 32% | 28% | 30% | 24% | 22% | 27% | 29% | 25% | 34% | 37% | 45% |
| Total disapprove | 43% | 48% | 49% | 57% | 58% | 53% | 50% | 55% | 36% | 37% | 36% |
Just under half (45%) of those surveyed approve of the job Tony Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader, 36% disapprove and 18% don’t know. This gives Tony Abbott a net approval rating of +9%.
This is the highest approval rating that has been recorded for Abbott in the Essential Report thus far and higher than Turnbull ever scored in our polling.
Results followed party lines – Coalition voters were more likely to approve of the job Abbott is doing (79%), while Labor voters were more likely to disapprove (58%). 28% of Labor voters approve of the job Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader.
68% of Green voters disapprove of the job Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader and 19% of these same voters approve.
People aged 65 years and over were more likely to approve of the job Abbott is doing (68%), while younger voters were more likely to indicate they don’t know (37%).
Males were more likely than females to approve of the job Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader (47% v 43%). Comments »
Abbott, Approval of opposition leader, tony abbott
Q. Do you strongly approve, approve, disapprove or strongly disapprove of the job Tony Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader?
| Malcolm Turnbull | Tony Abbott | ||||||||||
| 12 Jan 09 | 9 Feb 09 | 30 Mar 09 | 18 May 09 | 29 Jun 09 | 10 Aug 09 | 28 Sept 09 | 9 Nov 09 | 30 Nov 09 | 14 Dec 09 | 18 Jan 10 | |
| Strongly approve | 4% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 4% | 2% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 7% | 5% |
| Approve | 37% | 29% | 25% | 28% | 20% | 20% | 24% | 26% | 23% | 27% | 32% |
| Disapprove | 21% | 26% | 31% | 28% | 31% | 30% | 35% | 30% | 33% | 18% | 20% |
| Strongly disapprove | 9% | 17% | 17% | 21% | 26% | 28% | 18% | 20% | 22% | 18% | 17% |
| Don’t know | 29% | 24% | 24% | 21% | 19% | 20% | 21% | 20% | 19% | 31% | 26% |
| Total approve | 41% | 32% | 28% | 30% | 24% | 22% | 27% | 29% | 25% | 34% | 37% |
| Total disapprove | 30% | 43% | 48% | 49% | 57% | 58% | 53% | 50% | 55% | 36% | 37% |
37% of people approve of the job Tony Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader and a further 37% disapprove. Abbott’s approval rating has increased slightly since we last asked this question in December (+3%) and his disapproval rating has increased by one percent.
Perception of the job Abbott is doing as Leader of the Opposition followed party lines – Coalition voters were more likely to approve (70%), while Labor voters were more likely to disapprove (50%), as were Green voters (70%). 26% of Labor voters approve of the job Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader. Comments »
Abbott, approval, Approval of opposition leader, Liberal, opinion on opposition leader, Opposition leader, tony abbott, Tony Abbott approval
Q. Do you strongly approve, approve, disapprove or strongly disapprove of the job Tony Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader?
| Malcolm Turnbull | Tony Abbott | |||||||||
| 12 Jan 09 | 9 Feb 09 | 30 Mar 09 | 18 May 09 | 29 Jun 09 | 10 Aug 09 | 28 Sept 09 | 9 Nov 09 | 30 Nov 09 | 14 Dec 09 | |
| Strongly approve | 4% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 4% | 2% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 7% |
| Approve | 37% | 29% | 25% | 28% | 20% | 20% | 24% | 26% | 23% | 27% |
| Disapprove | 21% | 26% | 31% | 28% | 31% | 30% | 35% | 30% | 33% | 18% |
| Strongly disapprove | 9% | 17% | 17% | 21% | 26% | 28% | 18% | 20% | 22% | 18% |
| Don’t know | 29% | 24% | 24% | 21% | 19% | 20% | 21% | 20% | 19% | 31% |
| Total approve | 41% | 32% | 28% | 30% | 24% | 22% | 27% | 29% | 25% | 34% |
| Total disapprove | 30% | 43% | 48% | 49% | 57% | 58% | 53% | 50% | 55% | 36% |
34% of respondents approve of the job Tony Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader, 36% disapprove and 31% don’t know.
Perception followed party lines – Coalition voters were more likely to approve of the job Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader (65%) while Labor voters were more likely to disapprove (55%). 15% of Coalition voters disapprove of the job Abbott is doing as Opposition Leader.
Abbott’s approval rating is nine percentage points higher than the score Turnbull received right before he was replaced as Opposition Leader. However, Turnbull’s approval rating when he took on the leadership role in September 2009 was 36% and his disapproval rating was 30%. This is a slightly better result than that scored by Abbott after his succession to the leadership position.
Abbott approval, Approval of opposition leader, Liberal, Liberal Party, tony abbott, Voting intention
Q. Does the election of Tony Abbott as leader of the Liberal Party make you more likely or less likely to vote Liberal?
| Total | Labor | Coalition | Greens | |
| More likely | 21% | 12% | 42% | 5% |
| Less likely | 33% | 44% | 15% | 62% |
| Much more likely | 9% | 2% | 24% | 2% |
| A little more likely | 12% | 10% | 18% | 3% |
| A little less likely | 10% | 7% | 12% | 11% |
| Much less likely | 23% | 37% | 3% | 51% |
| Makes no difference | 39% | 42% | 39% | 32% |
| Don’t know | 7% | 2% | 3% | 1% |
39% of people think the election of Tony Abbott as leader of the Liberal Party makes no difference to whether or not they will vote Liberal, 33% think it will make them less likely and 21% more likely to vote Liberal.
42% of Coalition voters think the election of Tony Abbott as leader of the Liberal Party will make them more likely to vote Liberal, 15% think that it will make them less likely and 39% think it will make no difference. 44% of Labor voters and 62% of Green voters think it will make them less likely to vote Liberal.
Females were more likely than males to indicate that the election of Tony Abbott as leader of the Liberal Party will make no difference to their vote (43% v 35%).
Abbott, Approval of opposition leader, Liberal, opinion of opposition leader, opinion on opposition leader, tony abbott
Q. Which of the following describe your opinion of the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott?
| Abbott
7 Dec 09 |
Turnbull
29 June 09 |
Rudd
7 Dec 09 |
Abbott lead over Turnbull | Abbott lead over Rudd | |
| Intelligent | 71% | 75% | 82% | -4% | -11% |
| Hard-working | 69% | 68% | 77% | +1% | -8% |
| A capable leader | 46% | 39% | 69% | +7% | -23% |
| Demanding | 53% | 62% | 60% | -9% | -7% |
| Arrogant | 53% | 69% | 49% | -16% | +4% |
| Out of touch with ordinary people | 53% | 65% | 45% | -12% | +8% |
| Understands the problems facing Australia | 46% | 48% | 59% | -2% | -13% |
| Visionary | 34% | 26% | 48% | +8% | -14% |
| Superficial | 42% | 51% | 41% | -9% | +1% |
| Good in a crisis | 39% | 32% | 58% | +7% | -19% |
| Narrow-minded | 52% | 51% | 36% | +1% | +16% |
| Down to earth | 46% | 25% | 55% | +21% | -9% |
| Too inflexible | 45% | 47% | 38% | -2% | +7% |
| Complacent | 31% | 38% | 38% | -7% | -7% |
| More honest than most politicians | 31% | 16% | 49% | +15% | -18% |
| Trustworthy | 36% | * | 51% | * | -15% |
*Not asked in June 2009 poll
When it comes to rating Abbott, people think he is intelligent (71%) and hard-working (69%), yet demanding (53%), arrogant (53%) and out of touch with ordinary people (53%).
Abbott scores higher than his predecessor Turnbull in terms of qualities such as being down to earth (+21%), more honest than most politicians (+15%), visionary (+8%), capable leader (+7%) and good in a crisis (+7%).
Males were slightly more likely than females to think that Abbott is superficial (46% v 39%), honest (34% v 28%), visionary (37% v 32%) and down to earth (48% v 43%).