Party trust to handle issues

9 Nov 2021

Q. Which party would you trust most to handle the following issues?

	Liberal	Labor	Unsure	Difference	Difference Sep’21
National Security	38%	32%	29%	+6	+13
Management of the economy	41%	33%	26%	+8	+10
Maintaining international relations	33%	36%	30%	-3	+5
Ensuring the quality of Australia’s health system	33%	40%	27%	-7	-3
Ensuring a quality education for all children	32%	40%	27%	-8	-4
Housing affordability	27%	39%	34%	-12	-9
Protecting Australian jobs and protection of local industries	32%	41%	26%	-9	-9
Addressing climate change	26%	39%	35%	-13	-13
Fair wages and workplace conditions	29%	45%	26%	-16	-18
Base (n)	1,089	1,089	1,089		1,094

In the time since the fall-out from the government’s AUKUS submarine announcement and Scott Morrison’s COP26 performance, fewer people trust the Liberal party to maintain international relations and handle national security.
In September, more people trusted the Liberal government to maintain international relations than the Labor party (37% trusted the Liberals, 32% Labor). Now 36% trust Labor and 33% trust the Liberals.
38% of people now trust the Liberals to handle national security (41% in September) while trust in the Labor party has increased from 28% to 32%.

The Essential Report Archive Read the latest report