Essential Report
Performance of Anthony Albanese
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Anthony Albanese is doing as Opposition Leader?
| Sep’21 | Aug’21 | Jul’21 | Jun’21 | May’21 | Apr’21 | Mar’21 | Feb’21 | Jan’21 | Dec’20 | Nov’20 | Oct’20 | |
| TOTAL: Approve | 37% | 34% | 41% | 39% | 39% | 39% | 41% | 40% | 42% | 43% | 40% | 44% |
| TOTAL: Disapprove | 36% | 38% | 35% | 36% | 35% | 34% | 32% | 33% | 33% | 29% | 33% | 29% |
| Don’t know | 27% | 28% | 24% | 24% | 25% | 27% | 27% | 27% | 25% | 28% | 27% | 27% |
| Base (n) | 1,100 | 1,098 | 1,099 | 1,104 | 1,092 | 1,368 | 1,124 | 1,109 | 1,084 | 1,071 | 1,010 | 1,082 |
- The Opposition Leader’s approval rating is now at 37% (34% last month).
- The proportion of people disapproving of Albanese is now at 36% (38% last month). 27% say they are unsure of his performance.
Preferred Prime Minister
Q. Who do you think would make the better Prime Minister out of Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese?
| Sep’21 | Aug’21 | Jul’21 | Jun’21 | May’21 | Apr’21 | Mar’21 | Feb’21 | Jan’21 | Dec’20 | Nov’20 | Oct’20 | |
| Scott Morrison | 47% | 45% | 46% | 48% | 50% | 47% | 52% | 52% | 51% | 50% | 53% | 50% |
| Anthony Albanese | 26% | 26% | 28% | 28% | 24% | 28% | 26% | 24% | 25% | 24% | 24% | 25% |
| Don’t know | 27% | 29% | 26% | 24% | 26% | 25% | 22% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 24% | 25% |
| Base (n) | 1,100 | 1,098 | 1,099 | 1,104 | 1,092 | 1,368 | 1,124 | 1,109 | 1,084 | 1,071 | 1,010 | 1,082 |
- 47% of Australians continue to think that Scott Morrison would make a better PM than Anthony Albanese (45% last month).
- Just over a quarter (26%) think the opposition leader would make the better Prime Minister (same last month). 27% of participants don’t know who would make the better PM.
Views towards re-electing the federal Coalition government
Q. Which is closer to your own view about the federal Coalition government?
| Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | |||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| Deserves to be re-elected | 36% | 43% | 29% | 26% | 35% | 45% | 14% | 71% | 18% | 25% |
| Time to give someone else a go | 41% | 40% | 42% | 50% | 36% | 38% | 65% | 14% | 69% | 46% |
| Unsure | 23% | 17% | 29% | 24% | 29% | 17% | 21% | 16% | 13% | 29% |
| Base (n) | 1,100 | 539 | 561 | 341 | 374 | 385 | 388 | 405 | 90 | 119 |
| State | |||||
| NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | |
| Deserves to be re-elected | 34% | 37% | 35% | 40% | 37% |
| Time to give someone else a go | 45% | 37% | 42% | 39% | 37% |
| Unsure | 21% | 26% | 23% | 21% | 25% |
| Base (n) | 349 | 276 | 219 | 89 | 111 |
- When thinking about whether the current government should be re-elected, 41% think it’s time to give someone else a go, compared to 36% who think the federal Coalition government deserves to be re-elected. 23% are unsure.
- Those most likely to think the current government deserves to be re-elected include men (43%), those over 55 (45%), and Coalition voters (71%).
- People aged 18-34 (50%), Labor voters (65%), and Greens voters (69%) are the most likely to think it’s time to give someone else a go.
- NSW residents are more likely to think it’s time to give someone else a go than Victorians (45% to 37% respectively).
Federal government response to Covid-19
Q. Overall, how would you rate the federal government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak?
| 30/08 | 16/08 | 02/08 | 19/07 | 05/07 | 07/06 | 24/05 | 12/04 | 15/03 | 01/03 | 15/02 | 01/02 | 30/11 | |
| Very poor | 16% | 13% | 16% | 13% | 12% | 10% | 6% | 7% | 5% | 6% | 5% | 4% | 6% |
| Quite poor | 20% | 22% | 19% | 19% | 17% | 14% | 12% | 10% | 7% | 8% | 7% | 11% | 8% |
| Neither good nor poor | 24% | 24% | 28% | 23% | 26% | 22% | 25% | 21% | 18% | 24% | 19% | 19% | 19% |
| Quite good | 29% | 32% | 28% | 32% | 33% | 38% | 40% | 40% | 39% | 39% | 42% | 42% | 41% |
| Very good | 10% | 9% | 10% | 14% | 11% | 15% | 18% | 22% | 31% | 23% | 27% | 25% | 26% |
| TOTAL: Poor | 36% | 35% | 35% | 31% | 30% | 24% | 18% | 17% | 12% | 14% | 12% | 14% | 13% |
| TOTAL: Good | 39% | 41% | 38% | 46% | 44% | 53% | 58% | 62% | 70% | 62% | 69% | 67% | 67% |
| Base (n) | 1,100 | 1,100 | 1,098 | 1,100 | 1,099 | 1,104 | 1,100 | 1,368 | 1,124 | 1,074 | 1,109 | 1,092 | 1,034 |
| TOTAL: Good | 30/08 | 16/08 | 02/08 | 19/07 | 05/07 | 07/06 | 24/05 | 12/04 | 15/03 | 01/03 |
| NSW | 34% | 34% | 39% | 49% | 44% | 62% | 56% | 66% | 69% | 64% |
| VIC | 35% | 37% | 33% | 39% | 40% | 42% | 57% | 55% | 65% | 51% |
| QLD | 45% | 44% | 40% | 46% | 48% | 54% | 56% | 63% | 69% | 66% |
| SA | 48% | 45% | 48% | 51% | 48% | 58% | 66% | 62% | 78% | 68% |
| WA | 51% | 53% | 37% | 51% | 42% | 49% | 56% | 65% | 75% | 66% |
- 39% of people rate the federal government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak as quite good or very good (41% earlier in the month), with 36% rating it as quite poor or very poor.
- Positive rating of the federal government’s handling of Covid-19 is unchanged from earlier this month among those in NSW (34%, still the lowest recorded rating in NSW).
State government response to Covid-19
Q. How would you rate your state government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak?
| TOTAL: Good | 30/08 | 16/08 | 02/08 | 19/07 | 05/07 | 07/06 | 24/05 | 12/04 | 15/03 | 01/03 | 15/02 | 01/02 | 30/11 |
| NSW | 40% | 42% | 47% | 54% | 57% | 69% | 68% | 73% | 75% | 72% | 72% | 71% | 76% |
| VIC | 44% | 56% | 54% | 49% | 50% | 48% | 63% | 58% | 62% | 49% | 59% | 61% | 60% |
| QLD | 67% | 66% | 60% | 62% | 61% | 65% | 68% | 72% | 75% | 73% | 76% | 78% | 72% |
| SA | 76% | 68% | 73% | 68% | 67% | 67% | 71% | 75% | 85% | 78% | 79% | 80% | 70% |
| WA | 78% | 87% | 82% | 77% | 86% | 75% | 77% | 84% | 91% | 85% | 88% | 80% | 83% |
- Amid the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown in NSW, positive rating of the state government’s response to Covid-19 continues to drop, now at 40% from 47% earlier this month.
- Positive rating of the state government in Victoria has dropped by 12 percentage points to 44%, from 56% mid-August.
- Although it remains the highest of all states, positive rating of the WA government’s handling of Covid-19 has decreased 9 percentage points to 78% from 87% mid-August.
- Positive rating of the SA government has increased by 8% in the past two weeks to 76%, the best rating since March.
Biggest barrier to the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in Australia
Q. Which of the following do you think is currently the biggest barrier to the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in Australia?
| Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | |||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| Unwillingness among people who are eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine to get vaccinated | 48% | 50% | 47% | 43% | 44% | 57% | 41% | 60% | 30% | 52% |
| A shortage of supply of Covid-19 vaccines for people who are eligible and willing to get vaccinated | 52% | 50% | 53% | 57% | 56% | 43% | 59% | 40% | 70% | 48% |
| Base (n) | 1,100 | 539 | 561 | 341 | 374 | 385 | 388 | 405 | 90 | 119 |
- The general population is split on the biggest barrier to the national Covid-19 vaccine rollout; Just over half (52%) think the biggest barrier is a shortage of supply of Covid-19 vaccines for people who are eligible and willing to get vaccinated, while just under half (48%) think it’s an unwillingness among people who are eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine to get vaccinated.
- Those aged over 55 are more likely than younger cohorts to think the biggest barrier is related to an unwillingness to get vaccinated among those who can (57% to 44% of those aged 35-54, and 43% of those aged 18-34).
- Coalition voters are also more likely than other voters to think unwillingness is the main issue (60% to 41% Labor voters, 30% Greens voters and 52% minor/independent party voters).
- There is no difference in views across states.
Views towards level of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions
Q. Thinking about the latest Covid-19 lockdown in your area, do you think the restrictions are…?
[Asked only to respondents with lockdown restrictions in their area]
| Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | |||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| Too strong | 27% | 30% | 24% | 24% | 28% | 30% | 21% | 32% | 26% | 43% |
| About right | 61% | 58% | 65% | 63% | 60% | 61% | 67% | 60% | 66% | 43% |
| Too weak | 11% | 11% | 12% | 13% | 13% | 9% | 12% | 8% | 8% | 14% |
| Base (n) | 925 | 465 | 460 | 308 | 324 | 293 | 324 | 344 | 80 | 97 |
| State | |||||
| NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | |
| Too strong | 28% | 35% | 20% | 12% | 30% |
| About right | 56% | 57% | 70% | 70% | 70% |
| Too weak | 16% | 8% | 11% | 18% | 0% |
| Base (n) | 345 | 275 | 156 | 58 | 51 |
- 61% of people under lockdown restrictions think the lockdown restrictions in their area are about right. 27% think they’re too strong and 11% too weak.
- Victorians are most likely to think their restrictions are too strong (35%). In comparison, 28% of NSW residents think their restrictions are too strong. Those in NSW are more likely than Victorians to think the restrictions there are too weak (16% to 8% respectively).
Clarity of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions
Q. How clear and easy to understand are the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions/rules affecting the area you live in?
[Asked only to respondents with lockdown restrictions in their area]
| Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | |||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| Very clear and easy to understand | 40% | 42% | 39% | 32% | 45% | 44% | 43% | 44% | 36% | 27% |
| Fairly clear and easy to understand | 42% | 40% | 45% | 54% | 36% | 37% | 42% | 42% | 46% | 37% |
| Not that clear and easy to understand | 12% | 11% | 13% | 10% | 12% | 14% | 11% | 10% | 15% | 22% |
| Not at all clear and easy to understand | 5% | 7% | 4% | 4% | 6% | 6% | 4% | 4% | 3% | 14% |
| Base (n) | 925 | 465 | 460 | 308 | 324 | 293 | 324 | 344 | 80 | 97 |
| State | |||||
| NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | |
| Very clear and easy to understand | 29% | 50% | 44% | 46% | 50% |
| Fairly clear and easy to understand | 44% | 36% | 48% | 37% | 45% |
| Not that clear and easy to understand | 19% | 10% | 7% | 10% | 4% |
| Not at all clear and easy to understand | 8% | 4% | 2% | 7% | 1% |
| Base (n) | 345 | 275 | 156 | 58 | 51 |
- Most people understand the Covid-19 restrictions in their area, with 40% saying they are very clear and easy to understand, and 42% saying they are fairly clear and easy to understand.
- Restrictions in NSW are less clear than in Victoria. Just 29% in NSW say the restrictions are very clear and easy to understand (50% in Victoria).
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Read Essential's ongoing research on the public response to Covid-19.
Essential Report
In this week's report:
- Performance of Scott Morrison
- Performance of Anthony Albanese
- Preferred Prime Minister
- Views towards re-electing the federal Coalition government
- Party trust to handle issues
- Importance of Australia’s international reputation
- Scott Morrison’s impact on Australia’s international reputation
- Views towards Australia’s international reputation
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