Essential Report
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Performance of Scott Morrison
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Scott Morrison is doing as Prime Minister?
| Jan’20 | Dec’19 | Nov’19 | Oct’19 | Sep’19 | Aug’19 | Jul’19 | |
| NET: Approve | 40% | 45% | 45% | 47% | 49% | 48% | 48% |
| NET: Disapprove | 52% | 43% | 41% | 38% | 36% | 37% | 34% |
| Don’t know | 8% | 13% | 13% | 15% | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| Base (n) | 1,081 | 1,035 | 1,075 | 1,088 | 1,093 | 1,096 | 1,091 |
| Total | Federal Voting Intention | ||||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | NET: Other | ||
| Strongly approve | 11% | 4% | 25% | 4% | 5% |
| Approve | 28% | 12% | 54% | 16% | 23% |
| Disapprove | 20% | 26% | 11% | 22% | 25% |
| Strongly disapprove | 32% | 52% | 6% | 51% | 38% |
| Don’t know | 8% | 7% | 4% | 7% | 10% |
| NET: Approve | 40% | 16% | 79% | 20% | 28% |
| NET: Disapprove | 52% | 77% | 17% | 73% | 63% |
| Base (n) | 1,081 | 349 | 372 | 106 | 148 |
- The Prime Minister’s approval rating has decreased from 45% last year to 40% this year.
- 52% disapprove of his performance in January, up from 43%. This has been driven by an increase those who strongly disapprove – up from 22% in December to 32%.
- The PM’s approval rating among Coalition voters remains consistent with 79% approval (on par with 82% approval last month).
- He has lost approval among Labor voters, among whom strongly disapprove has increased from 36% in December to 52%.
Performance of Anthony Albanese
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Anthony Albanese is doing as Opposition Leader?
| Jan’20 | Dec’19 | Nov’19 | Oct’19 | Sep’19 | Aug’19 | Jul’19 | |
| NET: Approve | 43% | 39% | 37% | 40% | 36% | 38% | 39% |
| NET: Disapprove | 30% | 28% | 34% | 29% | 31% | 29% | 24% |
| Don’t know | 27% | 33% | 29% | 31% | 33% | 33% | 37% |
| Base (n) | 1,081 | 1,035 | 1,075 | 1,088 | 1,093 | 1,096 | 1,091 |
| Total | Federal Voting Intention | ||||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | NET: Other | ||
| Strongly approve | 8% | 16% | 4% | 8% | 2% |
| Approve | 35% | 48% | 31% | 34% | 25% |
| Disapprove | 21% | 11% | 29% | 16% | 27% |
| Strongly disapprove | 10% | 2% | 17% | 4% | 15% |
| Don’t know | 27% | 22% | 19% | 39% | 30% |
| NET: Approve | 43% | 64% | 35% | 41% | 27% |
| NET: Disapprove | 30% | 13% | 46% | 20% | 43% |
| Base (n) | 1,081 | 349 | 372 | 106 | 148 |
- Approval for Albanese has remained steady heading into 2020, moving from 39% to 43% between December and January.
- His approval from within his voter base (64% among Labor voters) is not as strong as Scott Morrison (79% among Coalition voters).
- Those who don’t know about Albanese’s performance is now 27%, the lowest since he became the Labor leader.
Preferred Prime Minister
Q. Who do you think would makes the better Prime Minister out of Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese?
| Jan’20 | Nov’19 | Oct’19 | Sep’19 | Aug’19 | Jul’19 | Jun’19 | |
| Scott Morrison | 36% | 44% | 43% | 46% | 44% | 44% | 43% |
| Anthony Albanese | 39% | 28% | 28% | 25% | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| Don’t know | 25% | 29% | 29% | 29% | 28% | 31% | 32% |
| Base (n) | 1,081 | 1,075 | 1,088 | 1,093 | 1,096 | 1,091 | 1,099 |
- For the first time since becoming leader of the Labor party, more people consider Anthony Albanese more capable of being PM than Scott Morrison. 39% think Albanese would be the better PM, compared to 36% for Morrison.
- A 6pt drop from November for Morrison has coincided with an 11pt increase for Albanese.
- A quarter (25%) don’t know who would make the better PM between the two.
Leadership during bushfires
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of Scott Morrison/Gladys Berejiklian/Daniel Andrews’s handling of the bushfire crisis?
| NET: Approve | NET: Disapprove | Strongly approve | Approve | Disapprove | Strongly disapprove | Don’t know | |
| Scott Morrison
(Asked in all states, n=1,081) |
32% | 57% | 8% | 24% | 21% | 36% | 11% |
| Gladys Berejiklian
(Asked in NSW only, n=333) |
55% | 22% | 14% | 43% | 14% | 9% | 22% |
| Daniel Andrews
(Asked in VIC only, n=275) |
58% | 20% | 14% | 44% | 13% | 7% | 22% |
| NET: APPROVE | Total | Federal Voting Intention | ||
| Labor | Coalition | NET: Other | ||
| Scott Morrison
(Asked in all states, n=1,081) |
32% | 11% | 64% | 23% |
| Gladys Berejiklian
(Asked in NSW only, n=333) |
55% | 54% | 71% | 40% |
| Daniel Andrews
(Asked in VIC only, n=333) |
58% | 67% | 63% | 37% |
- Around a third (32%) of people approve of Scott Morrison’s handing of the current bushfires crisis, with just 8% strongly approving of his performance. 36% strongly disapprove of his performance.
- Comparatively, state premiers Berejiklian and Andrews have performed well, with over half of people in each state approving of their handling of the crisis (55% in NSW and 58% in Victoria).
- The majority of Scott Morrison’s approval is coming from within his own supporter base, with 64% of intended Coalition voters approving of his performance during the crisis. Just 11% of Labor voters and 23% of those voting for another party approve of his performance.
Bushfires Statements
Q. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about the current bushfire season in Australia?
| NET: Agree | NET: Disagree | Strongly agree | Somewhat agree | Somewhat disagree | Strongly disagree | Unsure | |
| The Prime Minister should have met with experts before the fire season to plan a coordinated response to the risk | 79% | 13% | 57% | 22% | 9% | 4% | 8% |
| The Federal Government was underprepared for the risk of bushfires this season | 78% | 14% | 54% | 24% | 9% | 5% | 8% |
| When there are emergencies, politicians should get out of the way and let the experts do their job | 77% | 7% | 44% | 34% | 12% | 4% | 7% |
| The Prime Minister is right to say Australia has always had bushfires like these | 42% | 52% | 16% | 25% | 25% | 27% | 7% |
- 78% of people agree that the Federal Government was underprepared for the risk of bushfires this season.
- Around half (52%) disagree with the Prime Minister that Australia has always had bushfires like these.
Performance of Scott Morrison
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Scott Morrison is doing as Prime Minister?
| Dec’19 | Nov’19 | Oct’19 | Sep’19 | Aug’19 | Jul’19 | Jun’19 | |
| NET: Approve | 45% | 45% | 47% | 49% | 48% | 48% | 48% |
| NET: Disapprove | 43% | 41% | 38% | 36% | 37% | 34% | 36% |
| Don’t know | 13% | 13% | 15% | 15% | 16% | 18% | 18% |
| Base (n) | 1,035 | 1,075 | 1,088 | 1,093 | 1,096 | 1,091 | 1,099 |
| Total | Federal Voting Intention | ||||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | NET: Other | ||
| Strongly approve | 12% | 3% | 27% | 3% | 9% |
| Approve | 32% | 18% | 55% | 24% | 19% |
| Disapprove | 21% | 32% | 13% | 19% | 25% |
| Strongly disapprove | 22% | 36% | 1% | 46% | 35% |
| Don’t know | 13% | 11% | 5% | 7% | 12% |
| NET: Approve | 45% | 21% | 82% | 27% | 28% |
| NET: Disapprove | 43% | 68% | 13% | 66% | 60% |
| Base (n) | 1
,035 |
339 | 356 | 106 | 116 |
- The Prime Minister’s approval rating is now 45% and on par with Nov’19.
- While the PM’s approval has remained steady, disapproval scores have been increasing from 34% in July to 43% in December.
- The vast majority of Coalition voters approve of Morrison’s performance as PM, with 82% approval (on par with 83% approval last month).
Performance of Scott Morrison compared to expectations
Q. Since the federal election in May 2019, how has the performance of Scott Morrison compared to your expectations?
| Performance of Scott Morrison | Federal Voting Intention | |||||||
| Total | NET: Approve | NET: Disapprove | Don’t know | Labor | Coalition | Greens | NET: Other | |
| Has exceeded my expectations | 11% | 22% | 1% | 6% | 4% | 22% | 6% | 8% |
| Has met my expectations | 41% | 66% | 12% | 53% | 27% | 60% | 34% | 25% |
| Has fallen short of my expectations | 47% | 12% | 86% | 41% | 69% | 18% | 60% | 67% |
| Base (n) | 1,035 | 441 | 461 | 133 | 339 | 356 | 106 | 116 |
- 66% of participants who approve of the PM’s performance say he has met their expectations, compared to just 12% of those who disapprove of his performance.
- Again, Coalition voters are most likely to say Scott Morrison has met their expectations (60%) than other voters (28%).
Performance of Anthony Albanese
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Anthony Albanese is doing as Opposition Leader?
| Dec’19 | Nov’19 | Oct’19 | Sep’19 | Aug’19 | Jul’19 | Jun’19 | |
| NET: Approve | 39% | 37% | 40% | 36% | 38% | 39% | 35% |
| NET: Disapprove | 28% | 34% | 29% | 31% | 29% | 24% | 25% |
| Don’t know | 33% | 29% | 31% | 33% | 33% | 37% | 39% |
| Base (n) | 1,035 | 1,075 | 1,088 | 1,093 | 1,096 | 1,091 | 1,099 |
| Total | Federal Voting Intention | ||||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | NET: Other | ||
| Strongly approve | 8% | 14% | 7% | 8% | 3% |
| Approve | 31% | 44% | 31% | 29% | 14% |
| Disapprove | 18% | 10% | 25% | 20% | 28% |
| Strongly disapprove | 10% | 4% | 15% | 7% | 20% |
| Don’t know | 33% | 28% | 22% | 35% | 35% |
| NET: Approve | 39% | 58% | 38% | 37% | 17% |
| NET: Disapprove | 28% | 14% | 40% | 28% | 48% |
| Base (n) | 1,035 | 339 | 356 | 106 | 116 |
- Anthony Albanese has 39% approval as Opposition Leader, but one third (33%) still don’t know how to rate his performance.
Essential Report
Two Party Preferred: 14 May 2019
Labor
51.5%-0.5
Coalition
48.5%+0.5
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