Better PM, Bill Shorten, Tony abbot
Q. Who do you think would make the better Prime Minister out of Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten?
|
Total |
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote Other |
|
Oct 2013 |
Mar 2014 |
June 2014 |
Sep 2014 |
Oct 2014 |
Nov 2014 |
|
| Tony Abbott |
31% |
4% |
74% |
3% |
22% |
41% |
39% |
36% |
35% |
38% |
36% |
||
| Bill Shorten |
36% |
73% |
6% |
62% |
24% |
22% |
33% |
40% |
36% |
32% |
34% |
||
| Don’t know |
33% |
23% |
20% |
34% |
54% |
37% |
28% |
24% |
30% |
30% |
29% |
31% (down 5% since November) of respondents think Tony Abbott would make the better Prime Minister and 36% (up 2%) think Bill Shorten would make the better Prime Minister.
35% of men prefer Tony Abbott and 35% prefer Bill Shorten – and women prefer Bill Shorten 37% to 27%.
Bill Shorten, Christine Milne, Joe Hockey, Julie Bishop, Tony abbot
Q. How would you rate the performance of the following people over the last 12 months?
|
Total good |
Total poor |
Net rating |
|
Very good |
Good |
Neither good nor poor |
Poor |
Very poor |
Don’t know |
|
| Tony Abbott – Prime Minister |
27% |
49% |
-22 |
8% |
19% |
17% |
16% |
33% |
7% |
|
| Bill Shorten – Opposition leader |
26% |
31% |
-5 |
7% |
19% |
30% |
17% |
14% |
13% |
|
| Joe Hockey – Treasurer |
22% |
46% |
-24 |
5% |
17% |
23% |
16% |
30% |
10% |
|
| Clive Palmer – leader of PUP |
9% |
59% |
-50 |
2% |
7% |
22% |
21% |
38% |
11% |
|
| Christine Milne – leader of the Greens |
16% |
39% |
-23 |
4% |
12% |
27% |
14% |
25% |
19% |
|
| Julie Bishop – Foreign Minister |
47% |
19% |
+28 |
23% |
24% |
22% |
9% |
10% |
12% |
The Foreign Minister, Julie Bishop was the only politician measured with a positive rating – 47% rated her performance as good and 19% poor. Bill Shorten was the best of the others with a net rating of -5. Clive Palmer’s performance was rated very poorly (-50) while Tony Abbott, Joe Hockey and Christine Milne received similar net ratings.
Tony Abbott received a net rating of +50 from Liberal/National voters, Bill Shorten scored +42 with Labor voters and Christine Milne scored +36 with Greens voters.
Among Liberal/National voters Julie Bishop’s net rating was +61 and Joe Hockey’s +35.
Australia’s health system, Budget Deficit, important issue, tax avoidance, unemployment
Q. Which of the following issues are the most important for the Federal Government to address over the next 12 months?
|
Total |
|
Most import-ant |
2nd most import-ant |
3rd most import-ant |
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote Other |
|
| Improving our health system |
47% |
14% |
18% |
15% |
53% |
46% |
34% |
44% |
||
| Reducing unemployment |
37% |
12% |
13% |
12% |
38% |
33% |
30% |
43% |
||
| Reducing the budget deficit |
32% |
16% |
8% |
8% |
15% |
60% |
14% |
20% |
||
| Tax avoidance by big companies |
27% |
9% |
9% |
9% |
29% |
27% |
30% |
31% |
||
| Protecting workers wages and conditions |
24% |
8% |
7% |
9% |
34% |
16% |
10% |
30% |
||
| National security and terrorism |
23% |
8% |
7% |
8% |
16% |
35% |
6% |
32% |
||
| More funds for education |
23% |
6% |
8% |
9% |
26% |
14% |
30% |
26% |
||
| Housing affordability |
22% |
7% |
8% |
7% |
27% |
15% |
15% |
27% |
||
| Addressing climate change |
20% |
9% |
7% |
4% |
25% |
8% |
60% |
11% |
||
| Investing in public transport |
14% |
3% |
5% |
6% |
14% |
11% |
17% |
12% |
||
| Protecting the environment |
13% |
3% |
5% |
5% |
15% |
5% |
45% |
11% |
||
| Investing in roads |
10% |
3% |
2% |
5% |
6% |
15% |
4% |
12% |
||
| Free trade agreements |
6% |
1% |
3% |
2% |
2% |
12% |
5% |
3% |
The most important issues for the Federal Government to address over the next 12 months were improving our health system (47%), reducing unemployment (37%), reducing the budget deficit (32%) and tax avoidance by big companies (27%).
For Labor voters the most important issues were improving our health system (53%), reducing unemployment (38%) and protecting workers wages and conditions (34%). For Liberal/National voters the most important issues were reducing the budget deficit (60%), improving our health system (46%) and national security and terrorism (35%).
last 12 months, Past Year, year in review
Q. Thinking about the last 12 months, has it been a good or bad year for each of the following?
|
Total good |
Total poor |
Net score |
|
Very good |
Good |
Neither good nor poor |
Poor |
Very poor |
Don’t know |
|
Net score Dec 2013 |
|
| The Australian economy |
20% |
33% |
-13 |
1% |
19% |
39% |
26% |
7% |
7% |
-13 |
||
| Australian politics in general |
12% |
65% |
-53 |
1% |
11% |
25% |
32% |
23% |
7% |
-62 |
||
| Large companies and corporations |
30% |
16% |
+14 |
6% |
24% |
38% |
12% |
4% |
16% |
-9 |
||
| Small business |
13% |
41% |
-28 |
1% |
12% |
32% |
33% |
8% |
14% |
-45 |
||
| Trade unions |
11% |
29% |
-18 |
2% |
9% |
38% |
20% |
9% |
23% |
-25 |
||
| The average Australian |
17% |
40% |
-23 |
1% |
16% |
36% |
28% |
12% |
7% |
-22 |
||
| Your personal financial situation |
23% |
34% |
-11 |
2% |
21% |
39% |
22% |
12% |
4% |
-8 |
||
| Your workplace (employees only) |
26% |
31% |
-5 |
2% |
24% |
38% |
24% |
7% |
4% |
+8 |
||
| You and your family overall |
29% |
26% |
+3 |
3% |
26% |
41% |
19% |
7% |
5% |
+18 |
Respondents believed that this year has been a poor for all groups except large companies and corporations (+14) and you and your family overall (+3). It was considered a particularly bad year for Australian politics in general (-53), small business (-28) and the average Australian (-23).
Relative to 2013 (as measured in December last year), this year was considered better for politics in general (up 9), large corporations and businesses (up 23) and small businesses (up 17) but worse for their workplace (down 13) and you and your family overall (down 15).
2015 outlook, economic outlook
Q. Thinking about the next 12 months, do you think 2015 will be a good or bad year for each of the following?
|
Total good |
Total poor |
Net score |
|
Very good |
Good |
Neither good nor poor |
Poor |
Very poor |
Don’t know |
|
Net score Dec 2013 |
|
| The Australian economy |
23% |
33% |
-10 |
2% |
21% |
29% |
23% |
10% |
16% |
-10 |
||
| Australian politics in general |
15% |
44% |
-29 |
1% |
14% |
25% |
27% |
17% |
15% |
-24 |
||
| Large companies and corporations |
30% |
17% |
+13 |
5% |
25% |
33% |
13% |
4% |
19% |
– |
||
| Small business |
15% |
32% |
-17 |
1% |
14% |
34% |
24% |
8% |
18% |
-24 |
||
| Trade unions |
11% |
27% |
-16 |
1% |
10% |
37% |
19% |
8% |
25% |
-26 |
||
| The average Australian |
18% |
35% |
-17 |
1% |
17% |
33% |
25% |
10% |
14% |
-9 |
||
| Your personal financial situation |
26% |
26% |
– |
3% |
23% |
36% |
17% |
9% |
12% |
+6 |
||
| Your workplace |
20% |
20% |
– |
3% |
17% |
35% |
13% |
7% |
26% |
+15 |
||
| You and your family overall |
30% |
20% |
+10 |
4% |
26% |
37% |
13% |
7% |
12% |
+25 |
Overall, there was a positive outlook for large companies and corporations (net +13) and you and your family overall (+10). Expectations were negative for politics in general (-29), small businesses (-17), the average Australian (-17) and trade unions (-16).
Compared to last year, respondents were more optimistic about large businesses and corporations (up 13), small businesses (up 7) and trade unions (up 10) but feeling less optimistic about their workplace (down 15), you and your family overall (down 15%) and the average Australian (down 8).
Q. Do you think people of the same sex should or should not be allowed to marry?
|
Total
|
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote other |
|
Nov 2010 |
Jul 2011 |
Sep 2012 |
Oct 2013 |
Jun 2014 |
|
| Should be allowed to marry |
55% |
60% |
45% |
85% |
47% |
53% |
54% |
55% |
57% |
60% |
||
| Should not be allowed to marry |
32% |
28% |
40% |
8% |
45% |
36% |
35% |
36% |
31% |
28% |
||
| Don’t know |
14% |
12% |
12% |
7% |
7% |
11% |
11% |
9% |
12% |
12% |
55% agreed that people of the same sex should be allowed to marry and 32% think they should not. This is a drop in support since this question was previously asked in June.
Support for same sex marriage is 49% among men but 60% among women. 65% of under 35’s support same sex marriage – compared to 32% of those aged 65+.
federal politics voting intention
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?
Q. If don’t know -Well which party are you currently leaning to?
Sample size = 1,761 respondents
| First preference/leaning to |
Election 7 Sep 13 |
|
4 weeks ago 4/11/14 |
2 weeks ago 18/11/14 |
Last week 25/11/14 |
This week 2/12/14 |
| Liberal |
|
37% |
37% |
38% |
37% |
|
| National |
|
3% |
3% |
3% |
3% |
|
| Total Liberal/National |
45.6% |
40% |
40% |
40% |
40% |
|
| Labor |
33.4% |
38% |
38% |
39% |
40% |
|
| Greens |
8.6% |
10% |
10% |
10% |
9% |
|
| Palmer United Party |
5.5% |
4% |
3% |
3% |
3% |
|
| Other/Independent |
6.9% |
8% |
9% |
8% |
8% |
| 2 Party Preferred |
Election 7 Sep 13 |
|
4 weeks ago 4/11/14 |
2 weeks ago 18/11/14 |
Last week 25/11/14 |
This week 2/12/14 |
| Liberal National |
53.5% |
48% |
48% |
48% |
47% |
|
| Labor |
46.5% |
52% |
52% |
52% |
53% |
NB. The data in the above tables comprise 2-week averages derived from the first preference/leaning to voting questions. Respondents who select ‘don’t know’ are not included in the results. The two-party preferred estimate is calculated by distributing the votes of the other parties according to their preferences at the 2013 election.
Q. The balance of power in the Senate is now held by micro parties such as Palmer United Party, Family First, Liberal Democrats, Motor Enthusiasts Party and independents. Is this good or bad for democracy?
|
Total |
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote Other |
|
| Good for democracy |
37% |
49% |
23% |
54% |
58% |
|
| Bad for democracy |
29% |
19% |
50% |
20% |
15% |
|
| Makes no difference |
18% |
18% |
16% |
10% |
22% |
|
| Don’t know |
17% |
|
13% |
12% |
16% |
5% |
37% said that having the balance of power in the Senate held by micro parties is good for democracy and 29% think it is bad.
A majority of Greens and other voters think it is good while 50% of Liberal/National voters think it is bad.
When a similar question about PUP holding the balance of power was asked in July, results were similar – 36% thought it was good and 28% bad.