The Essential Report Archive Read the latest report

  • Feb, 2021

    , , ,

    Federal Voting Intention

    Q. If a Federal election was held tomorrow, to which party would you give your first preference vote in the House of Representatives (Lower House)?

    [If don’t know] Well which party are you currently leaning towards?

    Q       This week

    01/02

    		 Two weeks ago

    18/01

    		 14/12 30/11 16/11 02/11 19/10
    Liberal / Liberal Nationals / Country Liberals 35% 37% 34% 37% 36% 36% 36%
    Nationals 2% 3% 3% 4% 3% 3% 3%
    Total: Coalition 37% 40% 37% 41% 38% 39% 39%
    Labor 35% 33% 35% 33% 35% 35% 35%
    Greens 10% 10% 8% 8% 9% 9% 9%
    Pauline Hanson’s One Nation 3% 3% 4% 4% 4% 3% 3%
    Other/Independent 7% 7% 7% 6% 6% 5% 7%
    Undecided 8% 7% 9% 8% 7% 9% 8%
     
    2 Party Preferred (2PP+)
    TOTAL: Coalition 44% 48% 45% 49% 45% 44% 48%
    Labor 47% 45% 46% 43% 47% 46% 45%
    Undecided 8% 7% 9% 8% 7% 9% 8%

     

  • Feb, 2021

    ,

    Federal government response to Covid-19

    Q. Overall, how would you rate the federal government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak?

      01/02 30/11 16/11 02/11 05/10 21/09 07/09 24/08 10/08 27/07 13/07 22/06
    Very poor 4% 6% 5% 5% 5% 5% 8% 6% 7% 6% 6% 4%
    Quite poor 11% 8% 9% 10% 12% 13% 12% 11% 8% 11% 10% 8%
    Neither good nor poor 19% 19% 18% 24% 22% 21% 22% 22% 21% 20% 20% 17%
    Quite good 42% 41% 41% 39% 39% 40% 40% 40% 40% 40% 40% 43%
    Very good 25% 26% 26% 22% 21% 21% 18% 22% 24% 24% 24% 27%
    TOTAL: Poor 14% 13% 15% 15% 18% 18% 19% 17% 16% 16% 16% 12%
    TOTAL: Good 67% 67% 67% 61% 60% 61% 59% 61% 63% 64% 64% 71%
    Base (n) 1,092 1,034 1,010 1,063 1,066 1,081 1,076 1,068 1,010 1,058 1,054 1,079
    • Rating of the federal government’s handling of Covid-19 is stable at 67% from the last time this was measured in Nov’20, with 67% rating the handling of the pandemic very or quite good.
  • Feb, 2021

    ,

    State government response to Covid-19

    Q. How would you rate your state government’s response to the Covid-19 outbreak?

    TOTAL: Good 01/02 30/11 16/11 02/11 05/10 21/09 07/09 24/08 10/08 27/07 13/07 22/06
    NSW 71% 76% 75% 68% 65% 67% 57% 59% 61% 62% 63% 70%
    VIC 61% 60% 59% 55% 45% 47% 50% 47% 49% 53% 49% 65%
    QLD 78% 72% 71% 69% 69% 68% 66% 73% 68% 67% 69% 64%
    SA 80% 70% 76% 77% 81% 81% 74% 65% 72% 76% 79% 79%
    WA 80% 83% 82% 81% 83% 84% 87% 84% 86% 82% 77% 75%
    • Positive rating of the NSW government has dropped to 71% (from 76% at the end of November).
    • Positive rating of the QLD government has increased to 78%, the highest rating we’ve seen in the last six months.
    • The rating of the Victorian government is still the lowest rating of states at 61%.
  • Feb, 2021

    ,

    Preference towards federal vs state government Covid-19 vaccine rollout

    Q. As vaccinations against Covid-19 are rolled out across Australia, which authority would you prefer to be responsible for the distribution of the vaccinations in your state or territory?

      Total Federal Voting Intention
    Labor TOTAL: Coalition Greens TOTAL: Other
    The federal government 38% 31% 50% 32% 38%
    Your state or territory government 44% 54% 39% 44% 40%
    Unsure 19% 16% 11% 24% 22%
    Base (n) 1,092 361 400 97 126
    • 44% of Australians would prefer their state or territory government to be responsible for the distribution of Covid-19 vaccinations, compared to 38% who would prefer the federal government to take charge of this, and 19% are unsure.
    • Preference for their state or territory government to handle the rollout of vaccines is highest among Labor voters (54%), followed by 44% Greens voters, 40% minor and independent party voters and 39% Coalition voters.
  • Feb, 2021

    ,

    Confidence in Covid-19 vaccine rollout

    Q. How confident are you in each of the following?

    That the rollout of vaccinations against Covid-19 in Australia will be…

      TOTAL: Confident TOTAL: Not confident
    … done efficiently 68% 26%
    … done safely 72% 22%
    … effective at stopping Covid-19 within the country 58% 33%
    • Most Australians are confident in the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in Australia, with 68% confident that it will be done efficiently, 72% confident it will be done safely and 58% confident it will be effective at stopping Covid-19 within the country.
  • Feb, 2021

    ,

    Confidence in Covid-19 vaccine rollout

    Q. How confident are you in each of the following?

    That the rollout of vaccinations against Covid-19 in Australia will be…

    TOTAL: Confident Federal Voting Intention
    Labor TOTAL: Coalition Greens TOTAL: Other
    … done efficiently 65% 78% 66% 64%
    … done safely 71% 80% 67% 61%
    … effective at stopping Covid-19 within the country 59% 66% 57% 44%
    • Coalition voters are the most confident in the efficiency, safety and effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout compared to other voters.
  • Feb, 2021

    ,

    Confidence in efficiency of Covid-19 vaccine rollout

    Q. How confident are you in each of the following?

    That the rollout of vaccinations against Covid-19 in Australia will be done efficiently

      Total Gender Age Group Federal Voting Intention
      Male Female 18-34 35-54 55+ Labor TOTAL: Coalition Greens TOTAL: Other
    Very confident 19% 23% 16% 16% 21% 20% 15% 29% 18% 16%
    Fairly confident 48% 45% 51% 44% 47% 53% 50% 49% 48% 48%
    Not that confident 19% 21% 17% 27% 16% 16% 22% 14% 22% 21%
    Not confident at all 7% 7% 7% 7% 9% 5% 7% 5% 8% 13%
    Unsure 6% 4% 8% 6% 7% 6% 6% 4% 3% 2%
    TOTAL: Confident 68% 68% 67% 60% 68% 73% 65% 78% 66% 64%
    TOTAL: Not confident 26% 28% 25% 34% 25% 21% 29% 18% 30% 34%
    Base (n) 1,092 532 560 318 391 383 361 400 97 126
    • While confidence in the efficiency of the Covid-19 rollout is relatively high across all demographics, those who are older are more confident than younger cohorts (73% of those over 55 are confident, followed by 68% those 35-54 and 60% those 18-34).
    • Out of all voters, Coalition voters are the most confident that the vaccine rollout will be efficient, with 78% who are confident and of this, nearly a third (29%) who are very confident.
  • Feb, 2021

    ,

    Confidence in safety of Covid-19 vaccine rollout

    Q. How confident are you in each of the following?

    That the rollout of vaccinations against Covid-19 in Australia will be done safely

      Total Gender Age Group Federal Voting Intention
      Male Female 18-34 35-54 55+ Labor TOTAL: Coalition Greens TOTAL: Other
    Very confident 22% 24% 20% 18% 21% 27% 20% 29% 21% 22%
    Fairly confident 50% 51% 49% 46% 48% 55% 51% 51% 46% 38%
    Not that confident 15% 14% 15% 22% 16% 7% 17% 11% 19% 20%
    Not confident at all 7% 6% 9% 8% 10% 4% 6% 6% 10% 14%
    Unsure 6% 5% 8% 6% 6% 7% 6% 3% 3% 5%
    TOTAL: Confident 72% 75% 69% 64% 69% 82% 71% 80% 67% 61%
    TOTAL: Not confident 22% 21% 23% 31% 26% 11% 23% 17% 30% 34%
    Base (n) 1,092 532 560 318 391 383 361 400 97 126
    • Reflecting confidence in the efficiency of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, confidence it will be done safely is high overall as well. Again, those over 55 and Coalition voters have the most confidence in this (82% and 80% respectively).
Error: