Essential Report
Performance of Scott Morrison
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Scott Morrison is doing as Prime Minister?
| Nov’21 | Oct’21 | Sep’21 | Aug’21 | Jul’21 | Jun’21 | May’21 | Apr’21 | End Mar’21 | Mid Mar’21 | Feb’21 | Jan’21 | Dec’20 | |
| TOTAL: Approve | 48% | 54% | 50% | 50% | 51% | 57% | 58% | 54% | 57% | 62% | 65% | 61% | 62% |
| TOTAL: Disapprove | 42% | 37% | 41% | 40% | 40% | 36% | 32% | 37% | 35% | 29% | 28% | 30% | 28% |
| Don’t know | 9% | 9% | 9% | 10% | 9% | 8% | 10% | 9% | 8% | 8% | 7% | 9% | 11% |
| Base (n) | 1,089 | 1,097 | 1,100 | 1,098 | 1,099 | 1,104 | 1,092 | 1,368 | 1,100 | 1,124 | 1,109 | 1,084 | 1,071 |
| TOTAL: Approve | Nov’21 | Oct’21 | Sep’21 | Aug’21 | Jul’21 | Jun’21 | May’21 | Apr’21 |
| NSW | 51% | 54% | 48% | 50% | 53% | 59% | 64% | 55% |
| VIC | 49% | 52% | 47% | 45% | 49% | 52% | 51% | 51% |
| QLD | 46% | 60% | 56% | 54% | 49% | 60% | 60% | 57% |
| SA | 45% | 43% | 47% | 53% | 50% | 56% | 52% | 50% |
| WA | 50% | 51% | 58% | 53% | 50% | 50% | 63% | 56% |
- The Prime Minister’s approval rating has dropped to 48%, the lowest of the last 12 months (54% last month), with disapproval at 42% (37% in October).
- The drop in approval has been driven by attitudes in Queensland, where approval dropped from 60% in October to 46% in November. All other states remained consistent with last month.
Performance of Anthony Albanese
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Anthony Albanese is doing as Opposition Leader?
| Nov’21 | Oct’21 | Sep’21 | Aug’21 | Jul’21 | Jun’21 | May’21 | Apr’21 | Mar’21 | Feb’21 | Jan’21 | Dec’20 | |
| TOTAL: Approve | 40% | 41% | 37% | 34% | 41% | 39% | 39% | 39% | 41% | 40% | 42% | 43% |
| TOTAL: Disapprove | 35% | 34% | 36% | 38% | 35% | 36% | 35% | 34% | 32% | 33% | 33% | 29% |
| Don’t know | 25% | 25% | 27% | 28% | 24% | 24% | 25% | 27% | 27% | 27% | 25% | 28% |
| Base (n) | 1,089 | 1,097 | 1,100 | 1,098 | 1,099 | 1,104 | 1,092 | 1,368 | 1,124 | 1,109 | 1,084 | 1,071 |
- The Opposition Leader’s approval rating is now at 40%, consistent with last month (41%). There has also been no change in either disapproval (35% in November, 34% last month) or among those unsure on the opposition leader’s job performance (25% in both October and November).
Preferred Prime Minister
Q. Who do you think would make the better Prime Minister out of Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese?
| Nov’21 | Oct’21 | Sep’21 | Aug’21 | Jul’21 | Jun’21 | May’21 | Apr’21 | Mar’21 | Feb’21 | Jan’21 | Dec’20 | |
| Scott Morrison | 44% | 45% | 47% | 45% | 46% | 48% | 50% | 47% | 52% | 52% | 51% | 50% |
| Anthony Albanese | 28% | 29% | 26% | 26% | 28% | 28% | 24% | 28% | 26% | 24% | 25% | 24% |
| Don’t know | 28% | 26% | 27% | 29% | 26% | 24% | 26% | 25% | 22% | 24% | 25% | 26% |
| Base (n) | 1,089 | 1,097 | 1,100 | 1,098 | 1,099 | 1,104 | 1,092 | 1,368 | 1,124 | 1,109 | 1,084 | 1,071 |
- There has been no change in preferred Prime Minister from last month, with 44% opting for Scott Morrison and 28% Anthony Albanese.
- 28% 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?
| Nov’21 | Aug’21 | |
| Deserves to be re-elected | 34% | 36% |
| Time to give someone else a go | 45% | 41% |
| Unsure | 21% | 23% |
| Base (n) | 1,089 | 1,100 |
- 45% of Australians think it’s time to change federal governments, while 34% think the Coalition deserves to be re-elected.
- This sentiment is consistent with results in August, when 41% felt it was time for a change and 36% want the Coalition re-elected.
Party trust to handle issues
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%.
Importance of Australia’s international reputation
Q. How important is it that Australia has a good reputation among its international neighbours and trading partners?
| Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | |||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| Very important | 54% | 57% | 52% | 46% | 53% | 63% | 60% | 55% | 54% | 50% |
| Fairly important | 39% | 36% | 42% | 45% | 41% | 32% | 37% | 41% | 40% | 38% |
| Not that important | 4% | 5% | 4% | 6% | 3% | 4% | 2% | 4% | 5% | 9% |
| Not at all important | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 4% |
| TOTAL: Important | 94% | 93% | 95% | 92% | 93% | 96% | 97% | 96% | 94% | 88% |
| TOTAL: Not important | 6% | 7% | 5% | 8% | 7% | 4% | 3% | 4% | 6% | 12% |
| Base (n) | 1,089 | 534 | 555 | 336 | 374 | 379 | 354 | 401 | 106 | 125 |
- Australia’s international reputation is seen to be of great value, with 54% saying it is very important to maintain a good reputation among international neighbours and trading partners and a further 39% saying it is fairly important.
- Australia’s international reputation is most important to those aged over 55 (63% saying it is very important) and Labor voters (60%).
Scott Morrison’s impact on Australia’s international reputation
Q. Thinking about the Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Australia’s international reputation, which of the following is closer to your view?
| Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | |||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| As Australia’s PM, Scott Morrison has undermined Australia’s international reputation | 47% | 47% | 46% | 47% | 47% | 46% | 67% | 28% | 74% | 52% |
| As Australia’s PM, Scott Morrison has enhanced Australia’s international reputation | 27% | 33% | 22% | 27% | 26% | 29% | 14% | 50% | 14% | 19% |
| Unsure | 26% | 20% | 32% | 26% | 27% | 25% | 19% | 22% | 12% | 29% |
| Base (n) | 1,089 | 534 | 555 | 336 | 374 | 379 | 354 | 401 | 106 | 125 |
- Around half of people (47%) believe Scott Morrison has undermined Australia’s international reputation during his tenure as Prime Minister – more than those who think the country’s reputation has been enhanced (27%).
- Coalition voters are most likely to say Morrison has enhanced the country’s reputation (50%), however less than a fifth of all other voters share this view.
Views towards Australia’s international reputation
Q. Thinking about Australia’s international reputation, to what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
| TOTAL:
Agree |
TOTAL:
Disagree |
Strongly agree | Somewhat agree | Neither agree nor disagree | Somewhat disagree | Strongly disagree | |
| It’s important that Australia is trusted by its allies | 81% | 5% | 48% | 33% | 14% | 3% | 3% |
| The world needs to work together if we are to address big challenges like climate change and pandemics | 78% | 8% | 51% | 27% | 14% | 4% | 4% |
| As a middle-sized power Australia’s international reputation is important | 76% | 5% | 36% | 40% | 18% | 3% | 2% |
| Australia needs to put its own interests first, even at the cost of international relationships | 56% | 17% | 24% | 32% | 27% | 12% | 5% |
| TOTAL: Agree | Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | ||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| It’s important that Australia is trusted by its allies | 81% | 79% | 82% | 70% | 82% | 90% | 83% | 84% | 80% | 76% |
| The world needs to work together if we are to address big challenges like climate change and pandemics | 78% | 75% | 81% | 69% | 79% | 85% | 83% | 79% | 78% | 69% |
| As a middle-sized power Australia’s international reputation is important | 76% | 74% | 79% | 63% | 78% | 86% | 78% | 81% | 80% | 67% |
| Australia needs to put its own interests first, even at the cost of international relationships | 56% | 58% | 54% | 45% | 56% | 65% | 48% | 72% | 35% | 61% |
| Base (n) | 1,089 | 534 | 555 | 336 | 374 | 379 | 354 | 401 | 106 | 125 |
- People recognise the importance of international co-operation, with 81% agreeing it’s important for Australia to be a trusted ally and 78% agreeing that global issues require countries to work together.
- People aged 18-34 were less likely than those aged over 55 to agree that Australia needs to be trusted by its allies (70% to 90%), that the world needs to work together to address challenges (69% to 85%) and that as a middle-sized power Australia’s international reputation is important (63% to 86%).
- While just over half agree that Australia needs to put its own interests first, even at the cost of international relationships (56%), this is fewer than the agreement with other statements on the importance of international trust and international relations.
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
Sign up for updates
Receive the Essential Report in your inbox.Essential Tags
2PP
Abbott
ALP
Anthony Albanese
Approval of opposition leader
Approval of Tony Abbott
asylum seekers
Australian economy
Bill Shorten
Carbon Tax
climate change
coronavirus
covid-19
economy
Education
Election
EMC
environment
ER
Essential Media
Essential Report
Federal Budget
Federal Government
federal politics
Gillard
Greens
Julia Gillard
kevin rudd
Labor
Labor Party
Liberal
Liberal Party
Liberals
mining
Nationals
Opposition leader
peter lewis
Polling
polls
Prime Minister
Scott Morrison
tony abbott
two party preferred
voting
Voting intention
Recent Comments
