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?
| Apr’21 | End Mar’21 | Mid Mar’21 | Feb’21 | Jan’21 | Dec’20 | Nov’20 | Oct’20 | Sep’20 | Aug’20 | Jul’20 | Jun’20 | May’20 | |
| TOTAL: Approve | 54% | 57% | 62% | 65% | 61% | 62% | 66% | 63% | 64% | 66% | 63% | 65% | 64% |
| TOTAL: Disapprove | 37% | 35% | 29% | 28% | 30% | 28% | 25% | 27% | 28% | 23% | 27% | 26% | 27% |
| Don’t know | 9% | 8% | 8% | 7% | 9% | 11% | 9% | 10% | 8% | 11% | 10% | 8% | 9% |
| Base (n) | 1,368 | 1,100 | 1,124 | 1,109 | 1,084 | 1,071 | 1,010 | 1,082 | 1,076 | 1,010 | 1,054 | 1,059 | 1,093 |
| Total | Federal Voting Intention | ||||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| Strongly approve | 19% | 8% | 40% | 12% | 13% |
| Approve | 34% | 28% | 49% | 24% | 22% |
| Disapprove | 21% | 29% | 6% | 26% | 32% |
| Strongly disapprove | 16% | 28% | 2% | 28% | 24% |
| Don’t know | 9% | 7% | 3% | 10% | 9% |
| TOTAL: Approve | 54% | 36% | 88% | 36% | 34% |
| TOTAL: Disapprove | 37% | 57% | 8% | 55% | 56% |
| Base (n) | 1,368 | 483 | 471 | 123 | 165 |
| TOTAL: Approve | 12 Apr’21 | 29 Mar’21 | 15 Mar’21 | Feb’21 | Jan’21 | Dec’20 | Nov’20 |
| Men | 61% | 65% | 65% | 65% | 62% | 68% | 65% |
| Women | 46% | 49% | 59% | 65% | 59% | 56% | 67% |
| TOTAL: Disapprove | |||||||
| Men | 32% | 30% | 28% | 28% | 32% | 25% | 28% |
| Women | 42% | 40% | 30% | 28% | 29% | 30% | 23% |
- The Prime Minister’s approval rating has dropped to 54% (from 65% in February). This is the lowest rating seen in the last 12 months.
- Disapproval of the PM among women has increased to 42%, from 28% in February.
Performance of Anthony Albanese
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Anthony Albanese is doing as Opposition Leader?
| Apr’21 | Mar’21 | Feb’21 | Jan’21 | Dec’20 | Nov’20 | Oct’20 | Sep’20 | Aug’20 | Jul’20 | Jun’20 | May’20 | |
| TOTAL: Approve | 39% | 41% | 40% | 42% | 43% | 40% | 44% | 44% | 44% | 44% | 43% | 42% |
| TOTAL: Disapprove | 34% | 32% | 33% | 33% | 29% | 33% | 29% | 29% | 30% | 28% | 30% | 27% |
| Don’t know | 27% | 27% | 27% | 25% | 28% | 27% | 27% | 27% | 25% | 28% | 26% | 31% |
| Base (n) | 1,368 | 1,124 | 1,109 | 1,084 | 1,071 | 1,010 | 1,082 | 1,076 | 1,010 | 1,054 | 1,059 | 1,093 |
| Total | Federal Voting Intention | ||||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||
| Strongly approve | 9% | 12% | 9% | 11% | 9% |
| Approve | 29% | 44% | 24% | 30% | 17% |
| Disapprove | 23% | 21% | 28% | 21% | 23% |
| Strongly disapprove | 12% | 1% | 21% | 5% | 22% |
| Don’t know | 27% | 22% | 17% | 32% | 29% |
| TOTAL: Approve | 39% | 55% | 33% | 41% | 26% |
| TOTAL: Disapprove | 34% | 22% | 49% | 27% | 45% |
| Base (n) | 1,368 | 483 | 471 | 123 | 165 |
- The Opposition Leader’s approval rating is now at 39%, a slight dip from last month’s level (41%).
- Approval of the Opposition Leader has fallen to 55% among Labor voters (from 60% in March) and is 33% among Coalition voters (30% in March.
Preferred Prime Minister
Q. Who do you think would make the better Prime Minister out of Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese?
| Apr’21 | Mar’21 | Feb’21 | Jan’21 | Dec’20 | Nov’20 | Oct’20 | Sep’20 | Aug’20 | Jul’20 | Jun’20 | May’20 | |
| Scott Morrison | 47% | 52% | 52% | 51% | 50% | 53% | 50% | 49% | 52% | 50% | 53% | 50% |
| Anthony Albanese | 28% | 26% | 24% | 25% | 24% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 22% | 27% | 23% | 25% |
| Don’t know | 25% | 22% | 24% | 25% | 26% | 24% | 25% | 25% | 26% | 23% | 24% | 25% |
| Base (n) | 1,368 | 1,124 | 1,109 | 1,084 | 1,071 | 1,010 | 1,082 | 1,076 | 1,010 | 1,054 | 1,059 | 1,093 |
| Men | Apr’21 | Mar’21 | Feb’21 | Jan’21 | Dec’20 | Nov’20 | Oct’20 |
| Scott Morrison | 53% | 52% | 54% | 53% | 54% | 54% | 52% |
| Anthony Albanese | 29% | 30% | 28% | 28% | 29% | 28% | 29% |
| Don’t know | 18% | 19% | 19% | 19% | 17% | 19% | 19% |
| Women | |||||||
| Scott Morrison | 42% | 53% | 51% | 48% | 47% | 51% | 47% |
| Anthony Albanese | 26% | 23% | 21% | 22% | 19% | 20% | 22% |
| Don’t know | 32% | 24% | 29% | 31% | 34% | 28% | 31% |
| Apr’21 | Federal Voting Intention | ||||
| Total | Labor | Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | |
| Scott Morrison | 47% | 27% | 80% | 28% | 41% |
| Anthony Albanese | 28% | 50% | 10% | 45% | 20% |
| Don’t know | 25% | 24% | 9% | 26% | 39% |
| Base (n) | 1,368 | 483 | 471 | 123 | 165 |
- Just under half (47%) of participants believe that Scott Morrison would make a better PM than Anthony Albanese, a drop since last month (52%) and the lowest figure seen in the last 12 months.
- 28% would prefer the Opposition Leader (no change from 26% in March). A quarter (25%) of participants don’t know who would make the better PM.
- Preference for Morrison has dropped among women from 53% last month to 42% in April. Preference is unchanged among men (52% and 53%).
- Half (50%) of Labor voters believe Albanese would make the better PM, consistent with levels last month (49%). Just under a third (27%) think Morrison would make the better leader and about a quarter (24%) don’t know.
Federal government response to Covid-19
Q. Overall, how would you rate the federal government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak?
| 12/04 | 15/03 | 01/03 | 15/02 | 01/02 | 30/11 | 16/11 | 02/11 | 05/10 | 21/09 | 07/09 | 24/08 | 10/08 | |
| Very poor | 7% | 5% | 6% | 5% | 4% | 6% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 8% | 6% | 7% |
| Quite poor | 10% | 7% | 8% | 7% | 11% | 8% | 9% | 10% | 12% | 13% | 12% | 11% | 8% |
| Neither good nor poor | 21% | 18% | 24% | 19% | 19% | 19% | 18% | 24% | 22% | 21% | 22% | 22% | 21% |
| Quite good | 40% | 39% | 39% | 42% | 42% | 41% | 41% | 39% | 39% | 40% | 40% | 40% | 40% |
| Very good | 22% | 31% | 23% | 27% | 25% | 26% | 26% | 22% | 21% | 21% | 18% | 22% | 24% |
| TOTAL: Poor | 17% | 12% | 14% | 12% | 14% | 13% | 15% | 15% | 18% | 18% | 19% | 17% | 16% |
| TOTAL: Good | 62% | 70% | 62% | 69% | 67% | 67% | 67% | 61% | 60% | 61% | 59% | 61% | 63% |
| Base (n) | 1,368 | 1,124 | 1,074 | 1,109 | 1,092 | 1,034 | 1,010 | 1,063 | 1,066 | 1,081 | 1,076 | 1,068 | 1,010 |
- Rating of the federal government’s handling of Covid-19 has dropped back down to 62% (from 70% mid-March). This is consistent with levels at the start of March.
State government response to Covid-19
Q. How would you rate your state government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak?
| TOTAL: Good | 12/04 | 15/03 | 01/03 | 15/02 | 01/02 | 30/11 | 16/11 | 02/11 | 05/10 | 21/09 | 07/09 | 24/08 | 10/08 |
| NSW | 73% | 75% | 72% | 72% | 71% | 76% | 75% | 68% | 65% | 67% | 57% | 59% | 61% |
| VIC | 58% | 62% | 49% | 59% | 61% | 60% | 59% | 55% | 45% | 47% | 50% | 47% | 49% |
| QLD | 72% | 75% | 73% | 76% | 78% | 72% | 71% | 69% | 69% | 68% | 66% | 73% | 68% |
| SA | 75% | 85% | 78% | 79% | 80% | 70% | 76% | 77% | 81% | 81% | 74% | 65% | 72% |
| WA | 84% | 91% | 85% | 88% | 80% | 83% | 82% | 81% | 83% | 84% | 87% | 84% | 86% |
- Positive rating of state governments’ response to the Covid-19 outbreak has decreased in all states in the last month.
- While still high, the rating of the SA and WA governments have witnessed the largest drops in the last month – from 85% to 75% for the SA government and 91% to 84% for the WA government.
- Positive rating of the VIC government has dipped back down to 58% (from 62% a month ago). This is consistent with levels in February.
- Rating of the NSW and QLD governments are now at 73% and 72% respectively.
Confidence in Labor government handling of Covid-19 pandemic
Q. If a Labor government under Anthony Albanese had been in power, how confident are you that they would have done a good job at dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic?
| Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | ||||||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | |||||
| Very confident | 15% | 21% | 10% | 13% | 21% | 12% | 24% | 10% | 19% | 14% | |||
| Fairly confident | 29% | 27% | 30% | 33% | 30% | 24% | 42% | 22% | 32% | 22% | |||
| Not that confident | 24% | 25% | 23% | 25% | 21% | 25% | 18% | 30% | 25% | 20% | |||
| Not confident at all | 14% | 14% | 13% | 7% | 10% | 23% | 3% | 25% | 5% | 23% | |||
| Unsure | 18% | 12% | 24% | 22% | 18% | 16% | 13% | 12% | 20% | 21% | |||
| TOTAL: Confident | 44% | 49% | 40% | 46% | 51% | 36% | 65% | 32% | 50% | 35% | |||
| TOTAL: Not Confident | 37% | 39% | 36% | 32% | 31% | 48% | 21% | 56% | 29% | 44% | |||
| Base (n) | 1,368 | 669 | 699 | 426 | 460 | 482 | 483 | 471 | 123 | 165 | |||
- 44% of Australians are confident that if a Labor government under Anthony Albanese had been in power, they would have done a good job at dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic. 37% are not confident about this and 18% are unsure.
- Labor voters are the most confident about this compared to other voters (65%). They are followed by Greens voters (50%). Coalition voters and minor and independent party voters are the least likely to be confident in this (32% and 35% respectively).
- Those aged 18-34 and 35-43 are more confident that a Labor government would have done a good job a dealing with Covid-19 than those over 55 (46% and 51% to 36% respectively).
Satisfaction with speed of Covid-19 vaccine rollout
Q. Which of the following best describes your view on how quickly Australians are being vaccinated against Covid-19?
They are being vaccinated…
| Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | ||||||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | |||||
| … much more quickly than I would like | 13% | 16% | 10% | 17% | 18% | 4% | 10% | 12% | 16% | 22% | |||
| … a bit more quickly than I would like | 8% | 8% | 7% | 12% | 9% | 2% | 7% | 10% | 8% | 6% | |||
| … at about the right speed | 19% | 18% | 20% | 24% | 20% | 13% | 15% | 21% | 22% | 14% | |||
| … a bit more slowly than I would like | 25% | 23% | 26% | 24% | 19% | 31% | 23% | 34% | 19% | 13% | |||
| … a lot more slowly than I would like | 27% | 28% | 27% | 15% | 24% | 42% | 37% | 19% | 30% | 30% | |||
| Unsure | 9% | 7% | 11% | 9% | 11% | 8% | 8% | 4% | 6% | 16% | |||
| TOTAL: More quickly than I would like | 20% | 24% | 17% | 29% | 27% | 6% | 16% | 22% | 24% | 28% | |||
| TOTAL: More slowly than I would like | 52% | 52% | 53% | 39% | 43% | 73% | 60% | 52% | 49% | 42% | |||
| Base (n) | 1,368 | 669 | 699 | 426 | 460 | 482 | 483 | 471 | 123 | 165 | |||
- Just over half of Australians (52%) think Australians are being vaccinated against Covid-19 more slowly than they would like, with nearly a third (27%) feeling vaccinations are progressing a lot more slowly than they would like.
- 20% think Australians are being vaccinated against Covid-19 more quickly than they would like and 9% are unsure.
- Those over 55 are much more likely than younger cohorts to think the vaccine rollout is progressing more slowly than they would like (73% compared to 43% of those 35-54 and 39% those 18-34).
- Labor voters are the most likely voters to think the vaccine rollout is progressing more slowly than they would like (60% compared to 52% Coalition voters, 49% Greens voters and 42% independent and minor party voters).
Party most responsible for slow vaccine rollout
Q. Which do you think is MOST responsible for Australians being vaccinated more slowly than you would like?
[Asked only to those who think Australians are being vaccinated against Covid-19 a bit / a lot more slowly than they would like]
| Total | Gender | Age Group | Federal Voting Intention | |||||||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | Labor | TOTAL: Coalition | Greens | TOTAL: Other | ||||
| The federal government | 42% | 45% | 39% | 36% | 51% | 40% | 57% | 24% | 44% | 49% | ||
| State and territory governments | 7% | 8% | 7% | 16% | 7% | 4% | 5% | 11% | 5% | 13% | ||
| International supply chains | 24% | 29% | 20% | 24% | 19% | 28% | 17% | 35% | 20% | 17% | ||
| Unavoidable delays in the production of vaccines | 18% | 13% | 22% | 15% | 18% | 19% | 15% | 22% | 22% | 16% | ||
| Unsure | 8% | 6% | 11% | 9% | 6% | 9% | 6% | 8% | 8% | 5% | ||
| Base (n) | 713 | 356 | 357 | 165 | 194 | 354 | 291 | 242 | 61 | 72 | ||
- The largest cohort within the group of those who think Australians are being vaccinated against Covid-19 more slowly than they would like, think the federal government is most responsible for this (42%).
- About a quarter (24%) place the onus on international supply chains, followed by 18% who feel unavoidable delays in the production of vaccines are the main reason for the slow progress of the vaccine rollout in Australia.
- Only 7% think state and territory governments are most responsible and 8% are unsure.
- Those most likely to place responsibility on the federal government for Australians being vaccinated more slowly than they would like include those aged 35-54 (51%) and Labor voters (57%).
- Coalition voters are the most likely to think international supply chains are most responsible for the delays (35%).
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Read Essential's ongoing research on the public response to Covid-19.
Download this week's ReportEssential Report
Two Party Preferred:
Labor
47%
Coalition
44%
In this week's report:
- Performance of Scott Morrison
- Performance of Anthony Albanese
- Preferred Prime Minister
- Federal government response to Covid-19
- State government response to Covid-19
- Confidence in Labor government handling of Covid-19 pandemic
- Satisfaction with speed of Covid-19 vaccine rollout
- Party most responsible for slow vaccine rollout
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