Abbott, Approval of opposition leader, Liberal, opinion on opposition leader
Q. Do you think the Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is spending too much time on activities not related to his job as Opposition Leader?
| % | |
| Spend too much time | 32% |
| Not spending too much time | 45% |
| Don’t know | 23% |
Just under half (45%) of those surveyed think Tony Abbott is not spending too much time on activities not related to his job as Opposition Leader, 32% think he spends too much time on activities not related to his job and 23% don’t know.
Labor voters were more likely to think Tony Abbott is spending too much time on activities not related to his job (50%), while Coalition voters were more likely to think he is not spending too much time on activities not related to his job (76%).
People aged 55 years and over were more likely to think Abbott is not spending too much time on activities not related to his job (53%), as were males (49%). Comments »
2PP, Election, Family First, Greens, Labor, Liberal, Voting intention
Q. If there was a Federal election held today, to which party would you probably give your first preference?
Q. If you ‘don’t know’ on the above question, which party are you currently leaning to?
*1829 sample size
| 2 week average | % | 2PP | 2PP shift from last week |
| Liberal | 35% | ||
| National | 3% | ||
| Total Lib/Nat | 38% | 44% | – |
| Labor | 45% | 56% | – |
| Greens | 9% | ||
| Family First | 2% | ||
| Other/Independent | 7% |
NB. The data in the above table is derived from our weekly first preference voting question. Respondents who select ‘don’t know’ as their first preference are not included in the results.
* Sample is the culmination of two week’s polling data. Comments »
firmness of vote, Greens, Labor, Liberal, Voting intention
Q. Would you describe your vote very firm, fairly firm but might consider another party as campaign develops or not at all firm and might very well consider another party as the campaign develops.
| Total % | Federal Vote | |||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | ||
| Very firm | 44% | 43% | 58% | 26% |
| Fairly firm | 40% | 47% | 34% | 50% |
| Not at all firm | 14% | 9% | 7% | 18% |
| Don’t know | 2% | 1% | 1% | 6% |
Coalition voters were more likely than Labor voters to indicate their voting choice as very firm (58% v 43%). 47% of Labor voters and 50% of Greens voters indicated that their voting choice is fairly firm.
People aged 65 years and over were more likely to indicate their voting choice as very firm (60%) while those aged 25 – 34 were more likely to indicate their voting choice as fairly firm (47%). Comments »
Australian jobs, budget, economy, Industrial Relations, inflation, Interest rates, Labor, Liberal, party best at
Q. Which party – Labor or Liberal – would by best at the following –
| Labor | Liberal | No difference | Don’t know | |
| Being on the side of Australian working people when it comes to issues affecting them at the workplace | 48% | 18% | 24% | 10% |
| Handling the economy in a way that best protects ordinary working people in Australia | 39% | 30% | 20% | 11% |
| Creating jobs for Australian workers | 36% | 27% | 26% | 11% |
| Representing you and people like you | 35% | 30% | 24% | 11% |
| Handling the economy | 30% | 37% | 23% | 10% |
| Controlling inflation | 24% | 35% | 31% | 11% |
| Keeping interest rates low | 23% | 29% | 35% | 13% |
| Dealing with the budget and keeping government spending down in general | 22% | 42% | 26% | 10% |
Just under half (48%) of those surveyed think that Labor is the best party at being on the side of Australian working people when it comes to issues affecting them at the workplace, 39% think Labor is best at handling the economy in a way that protects ordinary working people in Australia.
The Liberal Party score highest in terms of dealing with the budget and keeping government spending down in general (42%) and handling the economy (37%).
In terms of being on the side of Australian working people when it comes to issues affecting them at the workplace, under half (46%) of Coalition voters surveyed think the Liberal Party is best at handling this, 33% of these voters think there is no difference and 16% of Coalition voters think Labor is best at being on the side of Australian working people when it comes to workplace issues. Comments »
Q. Regardless of your likely party choice for the next election, which of the leaders – Kevin Rudd or Tony Abbott – do you think overall would be the best Prime Minister?
| 21 Dec 09 | 22 March 10 | |
| Kevin Rudd | 51% | 50% |
| Tony Abbott | 25% | 30% |
| Don’t know | 24% | 19% |
When it comes to a choice between Rudd and Abbott as the better Prime Minister, 50% selected Rudd and 30% selected Abbott. The results for Rudd shifted slightly (-1%) since we last asked this question in December 2009. However, there has been a five percent increase in the number of people that prefer Abbott and a decrease in the number of people that don’t know (-5%).
Results followed party lines – 92% of Labor voters chose Rudd and 74% of Coalition voters chose Abbott.
64% of Green voters selected Rudd and 11% of Green voters selected Abbott.
People aged 65 years and over were more likely to think Abbott would make a better Prime Minister (42%), 18 – 24 year olds were more likely to indicate they don’t know who would make a better Prime Minister (28%). Comments »
Q. Who do you think would be the best Prime Minister out of Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard?
| % | |
| Tony Abbott | 37% |
| Julia Gillard | 47% |
| Don’t know | 17% |
Just under half (47%) of those surveyed think that Gillard would make a better Prime Minister, 37% selected Abbott and 17% don’t know.
Results followed party lines – 78% of Labor voters selected Gillard and 79% of Coalition voters selected Abbott.
61% of Green voters think that Gillard would make a better Prime Minister than Abbott.
Males were more likely than females to select Abbott (40% v 34%). 46% of males and 47% of females chose Gillard.
People aged 65 years and over were more likely to think Abbott would make a better Prime Minister (47%) and people aged 18 – 24 were more likely to indicate they don’t know (31%). Comments »
Q. And who do you think would be the best Prime Minister out of Kevin Rudd and Joe Hockey?
| % | |
| Kevin Rudd | 53% |
| Joe Hockey | 27% |
| Don’t know | 20% |
In a choice between Rudd and Hockey as Prime Minister – over half (53%) think Rudd would make a better Prime Minister, 27% prefer Hockey and 20% don’t know.
Results followed party lines – 88% of Labor voters prefer Rudd and 56% of Coalition voters prefer Hockey.
Hockey performs better than Rudd amongst those that don’t know which party they will vote for in the next Federal election (50%).
People aged 65 years and over were more likely to prefer Hockey (42%) and 18 – 24 year olds were more likely to indicate they don’t know (31%). Comments »
Federal Government, Health, hospital takeover, hospitals, State Governments
Q. Do you support or oppose the Federal Government’s plan to take over the responsibility for funding hospitals and health services from the State Governments?
| % | |
| Total support | 58% |
| Total oppose | 12% |
| Strongly support | 25% |
| Support | 33% |
| Neither support nor oppose | 21% |
| Oppose | 7% |
| Strongly oppose | 5% |
| Don’t know | 9% |
Over half (58%) of those surveyed support the Federal Government’s plan to take over the responsibility for funding hospitals and health services from the State Governments, 12% oppose, 21% neither support nor oppose and 9% don’t know.
79% of Labor voters, 46% of Coalition voters and 55% of Green voters support a Federal takeover for funding of hospitals and health services from the State Governments. 27% of Coalition voters neither support nor oppose the plan and 22% oppose it.
Males were more likely than females to support the plan (61% v 56%).
Support for a Federal takeover was highest amongst 55 – 64 year olds (67%).
People in NSW were more likely than those in other states to support a Federal takeover (64%). 55% of people in Queensland and 52% in Victoria support the plan.
In February this year we asked the Australian public whether they support or oppose a Federal takeover of hospitals. We found that 58% supported a Federal takeover, 10% opposed it, 19% neither supported nor opposed and 13% didn’t know. Comments »