The Essential Report Archive Read the latest report

  • Oct, 2021

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    Trust in institutions

    Q. How much trust do you have in the following institutions and organisations?

    TOTAL: Trust Oct’21 Change since Mar’21 Mar’21   Aug’20
    Scientific bodies (e.g. CSRIO) 68%   n/a   n/a
    State & federal health authorities 64% -4% 70%   69%
    Police, courts and the justice system 61% -3% 64%   64%
    Universities 59%   n/a   n/a
    State or territory government 55% -11% 66%   60%
    The Commonwealth public service 52% -5% 57%   56%
    Federal government 48% -6% 54%   55%

     

      TOTAL:

    Trust

    TOTAL:

    Don’t trust

    Have a lot of trust Have some trust Have little trust Have no trust at all Unsure
    Scientific bodies (e.g. CSRIO) 68% 25% 30% 38% 18% 7% 7%
    State & federal health authorities 64% 31% 21% 43% 21% 11% 5%
    Police, courts and the justice system 61% 35% 18% 43% 23% 12% 4%
    Universities 59% 34% 19% 41% 26% 9% 7%
    State or territory government 55% 41% 16% 39% 25% 16% 4%
    The Commonwealth public service 52% 41% 12% 40% 29% 12% 7%
    Federal government 48% 47% 13% 35% 29% 18% 5%
    • Trust in the state/territory government and federal government has decreased since Mar’21. Trust in state/territory government has dropped from 66% to 55%, and trust in the federal government from 54% to 48%.
    • People have the most trust in scientific bodies (68%) and health authorities (64%).
  • Jul, 2012

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    Trust to Deal with Global Economic Problems

    Q. Who do you trust most to deal effectively with global economic problems – Julia Gillard and the Labor Party or Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party?

     

    Total

    Vote Labor

    Vote Lib/Nat

    Vote Greens

    Julia Gillard and the Labor Party

    32%

    80%

    3%

    68%

    Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party

    42%

    3%

    84%

    11%

    Don’t know

    26%

    17%

    13%

    21%

    42% would trust Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party more to deal effectively with global economic problems and 32% would trust Julia Gillard and the Labor Party more.

    Those more likely to trust Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party were aged 55+ (51%), full-time workers (46%) and income $1,600+ pw (48%).

    Respondents earning less than $1,000 pw were more likely to trust Julia Gillard and the Labor Party  (39%) than Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party (35%).

    Of those who had heard or read a lot about the crisis in Europe, 46% would trust Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party more to deal effectively with global economic problems and 41% would trust Julia Gillard and the Labor Party more.

  • Jun, 2012

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    TRENDS: Loss of trust spreading beyond Parliament



    Peter Lewis spells out how Aussies have little trust in anyone or anything — except maybe the ABC.

    Trust is hot property in politics. Everyone wants to claim it while undermining their opponent’s. Broken promises are played hard in the hope of achieving political bingo: irreparable reputational damage.

    Labor’s flat-lining polls are widely attributed to Julia Gillard’s ‘trust issues’. Mind you, Tony Abbott isn’t considered to be excelling in the trustworthy stakes either. They barely muster a pass mark between them.

    But something even more insidious is beginning to occur, as this week’s Essential Report suggests. Loss of trust is contagious. We’re not just cynical about politicians; we are also losing faith in the institutions that underpin public life.

    Read the full article on The Drum.

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