The Essential Report Archive Read the latest report

  • Oct, 2010

    , , , ,

    Statements about Economic Impact

    Q. Which of the following statements is closest to your view?

    Total Vote Labor Vote Lib/Nat Vote Greens
    Time is running out and strong action must be taken to restore the health of the Murray Darling river system even if it means some job losses or other economic impact 47% 52% 42% 74%
    Protecting the economic well being of local communities and jobs must be the first priority in any decisions made about the Murray Darling river system 31% 28% 42% 13%
    Don’t know 22% 20% 16% 13%

    47% agreed that “strong action must be taken to restore the health of the Murray Darling river system even if it means some job losses or other economic impact “ while 31% agreed more with the statement “protecting the economic well being of local communities and jobs must be the first priority”.

    A majority of Labor (52%) and Greens voters (74%) agreed that “strong action must be taken to restore the health of the Murray Darling river system even if it means some job losses or other economic impact” while Liberal/National voters were split (42%/42)%.

    Comments »

  • Oct, 2010

    , , , , , , ,

    Moving children out of detention centres

    Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the Federal Government’s decision to move children and their families out of immigration detention centres and allow them to live in the community while their cases are being processed?

    Total Vote Labor Vote Lib/Nat Vote Greens
    Total approve 33% 42% 24% 63%
    Total disapprove 53% 45% 67% 28%
    Strongly approve 11% 15% 4% 39%
    Approve 22% 27% 20% 24%
    Disapprove 24% 22% 29% 12%
    Strongly disapprove 29% 23% 38% 16%
    Don’t know 13% 13% 9% 8%

    53% disapproved the Federal Government’s decision to move children and their families out of immigration detention centres and allow them to live in the community while their cases are being processed and 33% approved.

    63% of Greens voters approved, 67% of Liberal/National voters disapproved and Labor voters were split 42% approve/45% disapprove.

    By gender – men 38% approve/50% disapprove, women 28% approve/57% disapprove.

    Comments »

  • Oct, 2010

    , , , , ,

    Asylum Seekers

    Q. Do you think the Federal Labor Government is too tough or too soft on asylum seekers or is it taking the right approach?

    This week Vote Labor Vote Lib/Nat Vote Greens 12 July 10 4 April 10
    Too tough 7% 9% 3% 28% 10% 6%
    Too soft 63% 49% 83% 33% 56% 65%
    Taking the right approach 18% 31% 7% 30% 21% 18%
    Don’t know 12% 10% 7% 9% 13% 11%

    63% of respondents believe that the Federal Labor Government is too soft on asylum seekers  (up 7% since the last survey in July), 7% think they are too tough and 18% think they are taking the right approach.

    Only 31% of Labor voters and 30% of Greens voters think the Government is taking the right approach.

    Comments »

  • Oct, 2010

    , , , ,

    Party trust to handle Asylum Seeker issue

    Q. Which party would you trust most to handle the issue of asylum seekers?

    Total Vote Labor Vote Lib/Nat Vote Greens
    The Labor Party 25% 57% 2% 38%
    The Liberal Party 37% 8% 80% 8%
    No difference 25% 27% 11% 46%
    Don’t know 13% 8% 7% 8%

    37% of respondents trust the Liberal Party most to handle the asylum seeker issue and 25% trust the Labor Party most.

    57% of Labor voters trust the Labor Party most and 80% of Liberal/National voters trust the Liberal Party most. 46% of Greens voters and 55% of other voters think there is no difference between the Labor and Liberal Parties on the issue.

    Comments »

  • Oct, 2010

    , , , , , ,

    Raging Bulls Return to the Small Screen

    Ange Postecoglou

    Ange Postecoglou will be fired up for a rematch with his nemesis, Craig Foster.

    At last, Australian sport’s Great Rematch is upon us.

    Is it the Collingwood vs St Kilda Grand Final Replay replay?  No.

    Anthony ‘The Man’ Mundine vs Danny Green?  No.

    Michelle Ford vs Tracy Wickham?  No.

    I’m talking about Craig Foster vs Ange Postecoglou.

    For readers who may not be familiar with Round 1 of this epic contest, let me paint you a picture …

    It is Remembrance Day, 11 November 2006.  The Young Socceroos have just crashed out of the Asian Football Confederation Championships in the quarter finals, losing 2-1 to South Korea.  By failing to make it through to the semi-finals, they have also failed to qualify for the Under 20 World Cup – to be played in Canada the following year.

    Comments »

  • Oct, 2010

    Deadlock Broken: A Historic Agreeement in Tasmania’s Forests

    A LANDMARK forest peace pact signed this week in Hobart between environmentalists and the forest industry has been presented the Premier David Bartlett.

    Shortly before noon, Environment Tasmania director Phil Pullinger and Ed Vincent from the Tasmanian Forest Contractor’s Association, presented Mr Bartlett with a Statement of Principles to begin a longer-term agreement for the Tasmanian forest industry.

    The deal marks the first critical stage in bringing an end to the three decades-long conflict in Tasmania’s ancient forests.

    Comments »

  • Oct, 2010

    , , , , , , , ,

    Labor should tread (water) warily

    First Published on The Drum 19/10/2010

    As the Federal Government attempts to quell the backlash to its plans to save the Murray Darling by slowing the process to a crawl, it would do well to consider the lessons of the recently aborted Emissions Trading Scheme.

    If there were a structured training program for politicians (and maybe there should be) the former Rudd government’s failure to deliver on its commitment to address climate change would be a required text.

    It is a story of how tortured process can kill off reform, confuse would-be supporters, drain the public of confidence in their government and ultimately leave leaders in a no-win situation.

    Comments »

  • Oct, 2010

    , ,

    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 = 1,901

    First preference/leaning to 6 months ago 4 weeks ago 2 weeks ago Last week

     

    This week
    Liberal 37% 42% 42% 42% 42%
    National 2% 3% 2% 2% 2%
    Total Lib/Nat 39% 45% 44% 44% 44%
    Labor 42% 40% 42% 41% 40%
    Greens 11% 9% 8% 8% 9%
    Other/Independent 8% 6% 7% 7% 7%

    Comments »

Error: