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%).

Main cause of the IMF downgrade

Q. What do you think is the main cause of the IMF downgrade of the national economic outlook?

• Global factors outside the federal government’s control are seen to be the main cause for the IMF downgrading Australia’s economic outlook (42%), while another 10% of participants believe the cause to be local factors outside the federal government’s control. The federal government’s economic management is seen to be the cause of the downgrade by 29%.
• Labour voters tend to blame the federal government’s economic management (41%, compared to 14% of Coalition voters). Most Coalition voters blamed global factors (59%) as the cause of the downgrade.

Awareness of and support for Extinction Rebellion

Q. Before today, had you heard of Extinction Rebellion? / To what extent do you support or oppose the Extinction Rebellion protests to push for governments to act on climate change and move towards renewable energy?

•  42% of participants have heard of Extinction Rebellion and this is highest among Queenslanders (51%).
• 52% of those who are aware of Extinction Rebellion support their protests to push for governments to act on climate change and move towards renewable energy.
• Labor (68%) and Greens (96%) voters who are aware of Extinction Rebellion, are more likely than Coalition (27%) voters to support their protests.
• 18-34 year olds who are aware of Extinction Rebellion, are more likely to support their goals (71%) than those aged over 55 (38%).
• Queensland residents aware of the Extinction Rebellion are more likely to oppose the protests (58%) than any other state or territory (41%).

Performance of Scott Morrison

Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Scott Morrison is doing as Prime Minister?

• There is little change to the approval rating of the Prime Minister this month, with the 47% of participants approving of the job he’s doing is on par with previous months to June 2019 (49% in Oct’19 and 48% in June and July).
• The vast majority of Coalition voters approve of Morrison’s performance as PM, with 84% approval, compared to just 10% of Coalition voters who disapprove.
• Males (53%), capital city residents (50%) and participants with a university education (52%) were also more likely to view the PM’s performance positively – than females (40%), non-capital residents (40%) and those with lower levels of education (43%).