Q. If a Federal Election was held today to which party will you probably give your first preference vote? If not sure, which party are you currently leaning toward? If don’t know – Well which party are you currently leaning to?
| Total | 2 weeks ago
17/7/18 |
4 weeks ago
3/7/18 |
Election 2 Jul 16 | |||
| Liberal | 36% | 37% | 36% | |||
| National | 4% | 4% | 4% | |||
| Total Liberal/National | 41% | 40% | 40% | 42.0% | ||
| Labor | 36% | 36% | 37% | 34.7% | ||
| Greens | 10% | 10% | 11% | 10.2% | ||
| Nick Xenophon Team | 1% | 1% | 1% | |||
| Pauline Hanson’s One Nation | 6% | 6% | 6% | |||
| Other/Independent | 6% | 6% | 5% | 13.1% | ||
| 2 party preferred | ||||||
| Liberal National | 49% | 49% | 48% | 50.4% | ||
| Labor | 51% | 51% | 52% | 49.6% |
Q. When you vote in Federal and State elections, how important are the following in deciding who you vote for?
| Very import-ant | Quite import-ant | Not very import-ant | Not at all import-ant | Don’t know | Very import-ant Vote Labor | Very import-ant Vote Lib/Nat | Very import-ant Vote Greens | Very import-ant Vote other | ||
| The parties’ policies | 55% | 32% | 7% | 1% | 5% | 58% | 53% | 63% | 63% | |
| The party leaders | 28% | 45% | 17% | 4% | 5% | 26% | 32% | 23% | 35% | |
| The local candidates | 27% | 44% | 18% | 5% | 6% | 30% | 26% | 27% | 29% |
55% think that the parties’ policies are very important in deciding who to vote for, while 28% think the party leaders are very important and 27% think the local candidate is very important.
Greens and other voters are more likely to think policies are very important while LNP and other voters were a little more likely to think the party leaders are very important.
Q. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
| Total agree | Total disagree | Strongly agree | Agree | Disagree | Strongly disagree | Don’t know | ||
| Political parties should not change leaders before elections | 64% | 21% | 21% | 43% | 17% | 4% | 14% | |
| Political parties have every right to change leaders before elections | 46% | 42% | 10% | 36% | 27% | 15% | 12% | |
| Political parties should replace their leader if they are unpopular with voters | 56% | 29% | 13% | 43% | 22% | 7% | 15% | |
| If one of the major parties changed their leader I would be more likely to support them | 24% | 49% | 5% | 19% | 35% | 14% | 27% | |
| If one of the major parties changed their leaders I would be less likely to support them | 30% | 44% | 6% | 24% | 33% | 11% | 26% | |
| The leader of a party has little impact on my vote | 41% | 49% | 9% | 32% | 34% | 15% | 9% |
While 64% agreed that political parties should not change leaders before elections, 46% agreed they have the right to change leaders and 56% agreed that they should replace a leader who is unpopular.
Nearly half (49%) rejected the statement that the leader of the party has little impact on their vote, while 30% said changing leaders would make them less likely to vote for a party and 24% said it would make them more likely.
Labor voters were divided over voting for a party that changed leaders (28% more likely/30% less likely) while Liberal National voters were much less likely to support them (23% more likely/37% less likely).
Q. Which of the following do you think would make the best leader of the Liberal Party?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | Jun 2014 | Aug 2015 | Mar 2016 | Nov 2016 | Mar 2017 | Aug 2017 | Dec 2017 | Apr 2018 | |||
| Malcolm Turnbull | 28% | 22% | 51% | 13% | 9% | 31% | 24% | 39% | 21% | 20% | 25% | 21% | 24% | ||
| Tony Abbott | 10% | 9% | 11% | 5% | 18% | 18% | 18% | 9% | 11% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 11% | ||
| Julie Bishop | 16% | 16% | 14% | 29% | 17% | 4% | 17% | 12% | 20% | 17% | 20% | 19% | 17% | ||
| Christopher Pyne | 2% | 2% | 1% | 4% | 3% | <1% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 2% | 3% | 2% | 2% | ||
| Scott Morrison | 2% | 3% | 2% | – | 2% | 1% | 3% | 2% | 3% | 2% | 2% | 2% | 2% | ||
| Peter Dutton | 5% | 2% | 7% | – | 10% | 2% | 3% | 4% | 3% | ||||||
| Someone else | 14% | 22% | 3% | 27% | 24% | 19% | 13% | 15% | 18% | 18% | 13% | 15% | 14% | ||
| Don’t know | 24% | 24% | 11% | 23% | 16% | 21% | 22% | 21% | 25% | 28% | 25% | 27% | 27% |
28% (up 4% since April) think Malcolm Turnbull would make the best leader of the Liberal Party, 16% prefer Julie Bishop (down 1%) and 10% prefer Tony Abbott (down 1%). 14% (no change) prefer someone else.
Among Liberal/National voters, 51% (up 6%) prefer Malcolm Turnbull, 14% (up 1%) Julie Bishop and 11% (down 6%) prefer Tony Abbott.
Preferences of men were Malcolm Turnbull 30% (+2%), Julie Bishop 13% (-3%) and Tony Abbott 13% (-).
Preferences of women were Malcolm Turnbull 26% (+5%), Julie Bishop 18% (+1%) and Tony Abbott 6% (-3%).
Q. Which of the following do you think would make the best leader of the Labor Party?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | Aug 2015 | Dec 2015 | Mar 2016 | Jul 2016 | Nov 2016 | Mar 2017 | Aug 2017 | |||
| Bill Shorten | 19% | 37% | 12% | 18% | 7% | 16% | 13% | 15% | 27% | 17% | 21% | 20% | ||
| Anthony Albanese | 19% | 17% | 27% | 14% | 20% | 12% | 14% | 14% | 11% | 12% | 11% | 13% | ||
| Tanya Plibersek | 12% | 13% | 10% | 28% | 9% | 13% | 14% | 14% | 12% | 14% | 13% | 13% | ||
| Chris Bowen | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 5% | 3% | 7% | 3% | 4% | 3% | 4% | ||
| Tony Burke | 2% | 3% | 2% | 1% | 4% | – | – | – | – | 2% | 2% | 3% | ||
| Someone else | 13% | 5% | 17% | 12% | 28% | 18% | 17% | 18% | 17% | 18% | 16% | 13% | ||
| Don’t know | 31% | 22% | 29% | 23% | 27% | 36% | 38% | 32% | 30% | 32% | 35% | 34% |
19% (down 1% since August) think Bill Shorten would make the best leader of the Labor Party, 19% (up 6%) prefer Anthony Albanese and 12% (down 1%) Tanya Plibersek. 13% prefer someone else and 31% don’t know.
Among Labor voters, 37% (up 3%) prefer Bill Shorten, 17% (up 2%) Anthony Albanese and 13% (down 2%) Tanya Plibersek.
Preferences of men were Bill Shorten 21% (-2%), Anthony Albanese 24% (+7%) and Tanya Plibersek 12% (+1%).
Preferences of women were Bill Shorten 17% (-), Anthony Albanese 14% (+4%) and Tanya Plibersek 12% (-2%).
Q. Overall do you think the internet has been good or bad for the following:
| Total good | Total bad | Very good | Good | Neither good nor bad | Bad | Very bad | Don’t know | Good Aged 18-34 | Good Aged 35-54 | Good Aged 55+ | |||
| Jobs | 64% | 9% | 20% | 44% | 22% | 7% | 2% | 5% | 72% | 62% | 59% | ||
| Education | 69% | 9% | 25% | 44% | 18% | 7% | 2% | 4% | 74% | 64% | 71% | ||
| Health | 52% | 12% | 13% | 39% | 31% | 9% | 3% | 5% | 55% | 45% | 57% | ||
| The media | 44% | 28% | 14% | 30% | 25% | 18% | 10% | 4% | 53% | 39% | 44% | ||
| Entertainment | 73% | 7% | 33% | 40% | 16% | 5% | 2% | 3% | 77% | 70% | 75% | ||
| Global relations | 51% | 11% | 15% | 36% | 32% | 8% | 3% | 7% | 58% | 48% | 46% | ||
| Your life in general | 65% | 6% | 20% | 45% | 26% | 4% | 2% | 3% | 67% | 65% | 64% | ||
| Society in general | 49% | 20% | 11% | 38% | 28% | 14% | 6% | 3% | 50% | 45% | 54% |
A substantial majority believe the internet has been good for entertainment (73%), education (69%) and jobs (64%).
65% think it has been good for their life in general and 49% for society in general.
The only issue in some dispute was whether the internet was good or bad for the media (44% good/28% bad).
Those aged under 35 were more likely to think the internet had been good for jobs, education and the media while those aged 55+ were more likely to think it had been good for health and society in general.
Q. Here is a list of things both favourable and unfavourable that have been said about various political parties. Which statements do you feel fit the Liberal Party?
| Total | Change | Jul 2009 | April 2011 | Aug 2013 | Nov 2015 | Jun 2016 | Nov 2017 | ||
| Too close to the big corporate and financial interests | 67% | +2 | 60% | 60% | 67% | 66% | 65% | ||
| Will promise to do anything to win votes | 64% | -3 | 67% | 65% | 65% | 68% | 65% | 67% | |
| Out of touch with ordinary people | 64% | -2 | 62% | 54% | 58% | 62% | 63% | 66% | |
| Divided | 56% | -8 | 74% | 49% | 31% | 56% | 52% | 68% | |
| Moderate | 56% | +3 | 50% | 55% | 48% | 51% | 47% | 53% | |
| Have a vision for the future | 52% | +4 | 48% | 51% | 54% | 51% | 48% | ||
| Have good policies | 46% | +1 | 38% | 43% | 41% | 45% | |||
| Clear about what they stand for | 45% | +5 | 44% | 45% | 46% | 46% | 40% | ||
| Has a good team of leaders | 45% | +8 | 29% | 40% | 36% | 48% | 42% | 37% | |
| Understands the problems facing Australia | 42% | +1 | 44% | 51% | 48% | 46% | 44% | 41% | |
| Looks after the interests of working people | 37% | +1 | 38% | 36% | 32% | 31% | 36% | ||
| Extreme | 34% | -3 | 36% | 36% | 39% | 39% | 38% | 37% | |
| Trustworthy | 34% | – | 30% | 29% | 30% | 34% | |||
| Keeps its promises | 33% | +1 | 28% | 33% | 32% | 25% | 30% | 32% |
The Liberal Party’s main attributes were – too close to the big corporate and financial interest (67%), will promise anything to win votes (64%) and out of touch with ordinary people (64%).
Main changes since November last year, were – divided (down 8%), has a good team of leaders (up 8%) and clear about what they stand for (up 5%).
Q. And which statements do you feel fit the Labor Party?
| Total | Change | Jul 2009 | April 2011 | Aug 2013 | Nov 2015 | Jun 2016 | Nov 2018 | ||
| Will promise to do anything to win votes | 68% | -1 | 57% | 72% | 65% | 64% | 64% | 69% | |
| Looks after the interests of working people | 57% | -1 | 39% | 53% | 55% | 56% | 58% | ||
| Divided | 56% | +5 | 30% | 66% | 66% | 58% | 49% | 51% | |
| Moderate | 53% | +1 | 65% | 51% | 48% | 56% | 54% | 52% | |
| Have a vision for the future | 50% | +1 | 43% | 49% | 42% | 48% | 49% | ||
| Understands the problems facing Australia | 50% | +2 | 62% | 40% | 50% | 48% | 49% | 48% | |
| Out of touch with ordinary people | 48% | -4 | 44% | 61% | 51% | 52% | 46% | 52% | |
| Clear about what they stand for | 46% | +1 | 28% | 38% | 37% | 43% | 45% | ||
| Have good policies | 45% | +1 | 46% | 42% | 46% | 44% | |||
| Has a good team of leaders | 38% | -1 | 60% | 34% | 36% | 33% | 39% | 39% | |
| Too close to the big corporate and financial interests | 37% | -5 | 46% | 31% | 37% | 35% | 42% | ||
| Extreme | 34% | -7 | 25% | 38% | 34% | 30% | 30% | 41% | |
| Keeps its promises | 34% | +3 | 44% | 20% | 27% | 29% | 31% | 31% | |
| Trustworthy | 33% | +1 | 30% | 34% | 33% | 32% |
The Labor Party’s main attributes were – will promise anything to win votes (68%), looks after the interests of working people (57%), divided (56%) and moderate (53%).
Since this question was asked in November last year, the main changes have been for extreme (down 7%), divided (up 5%) and too close to the big corporate and financial interests (down 5%).