Protest Activity

Q. Have you personally ever taken part in any of the following…?

• Almost two-thirds (63%) of people have ever participated in a protest activity – either attending a strike or rally, or signing up to a petition or campaign.
• Signing online and written petitions are the most popular forms of protest (44% and 39% respectively have done this). Less than a fifth have ever a march or rally (17%) and 13% have been on strike.
• Women are more likely than men to have signed petitions (48% to 39% for online petitions and 41% to 37% for written petitions), while men are more likely to have been on strike (18% to 8%).
• People aged 18-34 are more likely than other to have attended a protest or rally (24% compared to 14% of those aged 35+).

• Greens voters are most likely to have participated in any activity (82%), with signing online petitions (71%), written petitions (51%) and attending marches or rallies (43%) being most popular.
• Those with a university education are more likely to have participated in protest activities are (69% to 60% of all others). They are more likely to have attended a march or rally (24% to 14%), gone on strike (18% to 10%) and signed up to an online campaign (16% to 8%).

Support for Right to Protest laws

Q. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements regarding the right to protest in Australia?

• A large majority of people agree that the right to peaceful protest is a fundamental part of a democratic society (82%), with half (51%) strongly agreeing.
• 58% agree that the Government has the right to limit citizen protests when it disrupts businesses (31% disagree), and 53% agree that protestors should have the right to pressure banks not to invest in companies that are building coal mines (33% disagree).
• Agreement was split for the statement ‘Government has the right to limit citizen protests when it is contrary to the national interest’ with 47% agreeing, and 41% disagreeing.

• Older respondents (those aged over 55) were more likely than younger people (18-34) to agree that the right to peaceful protest is a fundamental part of a democratic society (86% to 75%), that the Government has the right to limit citizen protests when it disrupts businesses (62% to 54%), and that the Government has the right to limit citizen protests when it is contrary to the national interest (52% to 41%).
• Over 55s are less likely to agree that protestors should have the right to pressure banks not to invest in companies that are building coal mines (60% to 48%).

• Coalition voters were most likely to agree that the Government has the right to limit citizen protests when it disrupts businesses (78%) and that the Government has the right to limit citizen protests when it is contrary to the national interest (65%). However they were least likely to agree that protestors should have the right to pressure banks not to invest in companies that are building coal mines (47%).
• Those who have participated in a protest activity are more likely than those who have not to agree with the statements ‘The right to peaceful protest is a fundamental part of a democratic society’ (87% to 72%) and ‘Protestors should have the right to pressure banks not to invest in companies that are building coal mines oppose the proposed changes’ (46% to 27%).

Support for Right to Protest laws

Q. Scott Morrison has flagged changing the law to stop environmental and other civil society groups or consumers campaigning against big resource projects. This change could make consumer or environmental boycotts illegal.

Based on what you understand, to what extent do you support or oppose the Prime Minister’s proposal?

• Overall, there was more opposition to support for the Government’s proposals stop environmental and other civil society groups or consumers campaigning against big resource projects (39% to 33%). 28% neither support nor oppose the proposals.
• Support was highest among men (38%) and those aged 55+ (37%).

• Just over half of Coalition voters support the Government’s proposals (56%). The proposal receives lower support among Labor (24%), Greens (12%), and minor party/independent voters (23%).
• Those who have participated in a protest activity are more likely than those who have not to oppose the proposed changes (46% to 27%).

Interest in horseracing

Q. How would you describe your level of interest in horseracing?

• The level of interest in horseracing is the same as in Nov’18 – 44% have no interest in horseracing, a quarter (24%) have low interest and another fifth (22%) have moderate interest.
• 18-34 year olds are more interested (31% moderate interest) than those over 55 (12%).
• Women are less interested in horseracing (50% having no interest) than men (38%).

Statements about horse racing

Q. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about horse racing?

• Four-fifths (78%) of participants agree that the Melbourne Cup is a unique part of Australia’s national identity, but 44% agree they have become less interested in Melbourne Cup because of their concerns about animal cruelty.
• The proportion of participants who agree, they are less interested in the Melbourne Cup because of their concerns about animal cruelty has increased by 15pt from Nov’18.
• Participants aged over 55 are more likely to agree that the Melbourne Cup is a unique part of Australia’s national identity (89%) and more likely to disagree that they have never been interested in the Melbourne Cup (68%) than 18-34 year olds (67%, agree part of national identity; 46% disagree never interested).

Party trust to handle issues

Q. Which party would you trust most to handle the following issues?

• The Liberal party is most trusted to handle border protection (52%, 21pt higher than Labor), manage the economy (49%, 15pt higher than Labor) and manage security and the war on terrorism (48%, 17pt ahead of Labor).
• Labor are most trusted to handle fair wages and workplace conditions (52%, 19pt ahead of Liberal), protect Australian jobs and protection of local industries (46%, 9pt over Liberal) and ensure the quality of Australia’s health system (45%, 9pt over Liberal).
• Labor have increased the trust gap between themselves and the Liberals in addressing climate change since March of this year – Labour now has a 15pt lead over Liberal on this issue up from 10pt earlier this year.
• Labour have also closed the gap in managing population growth, with a 6pt lag behind Liberals compared to 10pt in Mar’19.

Financial situation

Q. Which of the following statements best describes your financial situation?

•  Participant’s financial situations have improved since Sep’17 with 38% now saying they are financially comfortable (up 5pt) and 39% (down 4pt) saying they can manage household bills but struggle to afford anything extra.
• Still 22% (up 2pt from Sep’17) feel under financial pressure.
• Those aged 35-54 (29%), low income earners (37%) and single people (33%) are more likely to feel under financial pressure, than those aged 18-34 (19%) or 55+ (17%), earning higher incomes (13%) or married/in a de facto relationship (14%).
• Capital city residents (41%), those with a university education (49%) and high-income earners (58%) are more likely to feel financially comfortable than non-capital residents (32%), those with a lower level of education (31%) and lower income earners (31%).

Spending surplus to delay economic slowdown

Q. Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasted that Australia’s national growth rate in 2019 will be 1.7%, lower than the 2.1% estimated earlier in the year.

Some people believe that this economic slowdown could be avoided by spending some of the federal surplus on infrastructure projects. Others think that the surplus shouldn’t be spent at all.

Which of the below is closest to your view?

•  Majority of participants (56%) think that the Government should stimulate the economy to help prevent a downturn and delay the surplus, while a third (33%) think the Government should maintain the surplus at all costs.
• Those over 55 years old (64%), intending to vote Labor (66%) or Greens (62%) are more likely to say the Government should stimulate the economy than 18-34 year olds (49%) and Coalition voters (43%).
• Participants with dependent children are more likely to say the government should maintain the surplus (40%) than those without dependent children (30%).