Easing restrictions - The Essential Report Archive

The Essential Report Archive Read the latest report

Easing restrictions

12 May 2020

Q. When do you think governments should start to ease the restrictions on travel and gatherings to allow offices, shops, restaurants, other workplaces, and public spaces to start operating again?

	11/05	04/05	27/04	20/04
As soon as possible	13%	10%	10%	9%
Within the next 1 to 2 weeks	12%	9%	7%	6%
Within the next month	22%	21%	18%	14%
By the end of next month	20%	15%	15%	13%
It is too soon to consider easing restrictions	27%	37%	42%	49%
Unsure	6%	8%	8%	10%
Base (n)	1,067	1,093	1,054	1,051

	Federal Voting Intention
	Labor	Coalition	Greens	TOTAL: Other
As soon as possible	11%	15%	4%	17%
Within the next 1 to 2 weeks	10%	15%	4%	18%
Within the next month	17%	25%	35%	17%
By the end of next month	24%	17%	15%	17%
It is too soon to consider easing restrictions	33%	23%	35%	20%
Unsure	5%	4%	6%	10%
Base (n)	306	418	86	143

People are becoming increasingly open to easing the lockdown restrictions – now just over a quarter (27%) believe it’s too soon to consider easing restrictions and 20% say that the government could ease restrictions by the end of June.
Labor and Greens voters (33% and 35% respectively) are more likely to say it’s too soon to consider easing restrictions than Coalition and other voters (23% and 20%).