Essential Report
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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.
Performance of Anthony Albanese compared to expectations
Q. Since the federal election in May 2019, how has the performance of Anthony Albanese compared to your expectations?
| Performance of Anthony Albanese | Federal Voting Intention | |||||||
| Total | NET: Approve | NET: Disapprove | Don’t know | Labor | Coalition | Greens | NET: Other | |
| Has exceeded my expectations | 8% | 16% | 3% | 2% | 11% | 6% | 10% | 6% |
| Has met my expectations | 48% | 67% | 21% | 50% | 55% | 47% | 46% | 30% |
| Has fallen short of my expectations | 44% | 18% | 77% | 48% | 34% | 47% | 44% | 64% |
| Base (n) | 1,035 | 441 | 461 | 133 | 339 | 356 | 106 | 116 |
- Less than half of participants say that Anthony Albanese has met their expectations since the election, with 77% of those who disapprove of his performance saying he fell short of their expectations.
- Labor voters are most likely to say that he has met their expectations (55%) whereas 64% of other party or independent voters say he has fallen short of their expectations.
Last 12 months
Q. Thinking about the last 12 months, has it been a good or bad year for each of the following?
| Total good | Total bad | NET | Very good | Good | Neither good nor bad | Bad | Very bad | Don’t know | 2018 NET | |||
| The Australian cricket team | 44% | 10% | +34 | 13% | 32% | 26% | 6% | 4% | 12% | +2 | ||
| Large companies and corporations | 41% | 18% | +23 | 10% | 31% | 31% | 13% | 5% | 10% | +9 | ||
| You and your family overall | 41% | 22% | +19 | 9% | 32% | 35% | 15% | 7% | 3% | +28 | ||
| Your workplace | 30% | 16% | +14 | 7% | 23% | 29% | 10% | 6% | 23% | +28 | ||
| Your personal financial situation | 30% | 32% | -2 | 6% | 24% | 35% | 19% | 13% | 3% | – | ||
| The average Australian | 27% | 31% | -4 | 7% | 21% | 37% | 22% | 9% | 4% | -1 | ||
| The Australian Government | 29% | 36% | -7 | 7% | 22% | 31% | 22% | 14% | 5% | -41 | ||
| Trade unions | 19% | 30% | -11 | 5% | 14% | 35% | 21% | 9% | 10% | -2 | ||
| Small business | 24% | 36% | -12 | 4% | 20% | 31% | 27% | 9% | 9% | +6 | ||
| The Australian economy | 25% | 38% | -13 | 5% | 20% | 31% | 26% | 12% | 5% | +6 | ||
| Australian politics in general | 21% | 41% | -20 | 5% | 16% | 32% | 24% | 18% | 4% | -50 | ||
| The planet | 20% | 49% | -29 | 6% | 14% | 27% | 28% | 21% | 4% | -19 |
- Participants believe that 2019 has been a good year for the Australian cricket team (+34, up from +2 in 2018), large companies and corporations (+23, up from +9 in 2018) and them and their families.
- This year has been bad for the planet (-29, down 10pts from 2018) and Australian politics in general (-20).
- Australian politics in general and the Australian Government have the greatest swing compared to 2018 with Australian politics in general up from -50 to -20 and the Australian Government up from -41 to -7.
- The Australian economy also saw a large swing from 2018, dropping from +6 in 2018 to -13 in 2019; which is mirrored by small businesses (from +6 in 2018 to -12 in 2019).
- Trade unions are similarly seen as having a bad year, falling from -2 in 2018 to -11 in 2019.
Impact of same-sex marriage
Q. Same-sex marriage has now been legal in Australia for two years (since December 2017). To what extent do you think allowing same-sex people to marry has had a positive or negative impact on Australia?
| Total | Federal Voting Intention | ||||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | NET: Other | ||
| Strong positive impact | 24% | 28% | 18% | 43% | 22% |
| Somewhat positive impact | 23% | 27% | 24% | 22% | 10% |
| Neither positive, nor negative impact | 38% | 33% | 43% | 27% | 38% |
| Somewhat negative impact | 7% | 5% | 8% | 4% | 10% |
| Strong negative impact | 8% | 7% | 8% | 5% | 21% |
| NET: Positive impact | 47% | 55% | 42% | 65% | 31% |
| NET: Negative impact | 15% | 12% | 15% | 8% | 31% |
| Base (n) | 1,035 | 339 | 356 | 106 | 116 |
- 47% of participants say allowing same-sex people to marry has had a positive impact on Australia with only 15% saying this has had a negative impact.
- Greens voters are most likely to say this has had a positive impact (65%) whereas 31% of other party or independent voters believe this has had a negative impact.
Attitudes towards unions
Q. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about unions?
| NET: Agree | NET: Disagree | Strongly agree | Somewhat agree | Somewhat disagree | Strongly disagree | Unsure | |
| Union officials should be disqualified for breaching administrative laws such as failing to file annual financial reports | 68% | 18% | 30% | 38% | 13% | 5% | 14% |
| The government seems to be more concerned about the actions of union officials than the CEO’s of banks and other corporations | 62% | 24% | 29% | 34% | 18% | 6% | 14% |
| Union officials should be disqualified for taking unprotected industrial action, such as snap strikes | 51% | 32% | 20% | 31% | 22% | 10% | 17% |
| Overall unions have too much power in Australia today | 49% | 37% | 18% | 31% | 24% | 13% | 14% |
- Two-thirds of participants agree that ‘union officials should be disqualified for breaching administrative laws such as failing to file annual financial reports’ (68%) and 62% agree that the government seems to be more concerned about the actions of union officials than the CEO’s of banks and other corporations.
- Half of participants agree that union officials should be disqualified for taking unprotected industrial action, such as snap strikes (51%) and 49% agree that overall unions have too much power in Australia today.
- Capital city residents are more likely than non-capital city residents to agree that overall unions have too much power in Australia today, with 53% of capital city and 41% of non-capital city residents agreeing with the statement.
- Broadly, Coalition voters and those over 55 years old were most likely to agree with statements that are more negative towards unions.
Essential Report
Two Party Preferred: 14 May 2019
Labor
51.5%-0.5
Coalition
48.5%+0.5
In this week's report:
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