Leader attributes – Anthony Albanese

Q. Which of the following describe your opinion of the Opposition Leader, Anthony Albanese?

• Anthony Albanese is also perceived as intelligent (66%) and hard-working (64%), but this perception is greater than Bill Shorten in December 2018 (56% and 57% respectively). Albanese also is more likely than Bill Shorten to be seen as more honest than most (42% to 32%).
• Albanese is seen as less arrogant than Shorten (33% to 46%), less erratic (30% to 40%) and less aggressive (27% to 37%).

Leader attributes – Comparisons

Q. Which of the following describe your opinion of the Prime Minister, Scott Morrison / Opposition Leader, Anthony Albanese?

• For all opinions, more people felt it described Scott Morrison than Anthony Albanese.

Most Important Issues

Q. Which of the following issues are the most important for the Federal Government to address over the next 12 months?

• The most important issues for the Federal Government to address over the next 12 months are seen to be creating jobs and reducing unemployment (36%), improving the health system (32%), reducing utility bills and protecting the environment (both 27%).
• Protecting the environment saw an 11pt increase as an important issue for the Federal Government to address from February 2019 (from 16% to 27%).

Syrian brides

Q. In Syria, 20 Australian women and 46 children are being held by the Syrian Democratic Forces alongside their husbands who were captured while fighting for the Islamic State. These women and children are not considered prisoners of war but are unable to leave the camp and return to Australia.

It’s a complex situation where national security issues, human rights violations and the law all intersect.

Broadly, to what extent do you support or oppose these women and children returning to Australia?

• Almost half (47%) of participants are opposed to the Syrian brides and children being returned to Australia – this is driven by those over 55 (62% opposed), those with professional qualifications (53%), non-capital residents (53%), Liberal voters (59%) and independent/other voters (61%).
• Greens voters (57%), 18-34 year olds (52%) and university educated participants (49%) are most supportive of the families returning home.

Types of family violence

Q. Which, if any of the following behaviours do you think would be considered as a type of family violence?

• The majority of participants (80%) considered physical abuse (hitting, punching, etc. or restraining in any way) as a form of family violence; however, this gradually decreased for less visible indicators of abuse such as spiritual and medical abuse (58% and 56%) respectively.
• Broadly, men were less likely to identify forms of family violence outside of physical abuse than women – for example only 57% of men considered financial abuse as a form of family violence compared to 72% of women.
• Younger participants were also less likely to consider any of the listed actions as family violence – with 68% of 18-34 year olds selecting physical abuse as a form of family violence compared to 92% of 55+ year olds.
• Men aged between 18-34 years old were particularly less likely to identify forms of family violence with at most 63% indicating physical abuse and 39% spiritual abuse were forms of family violence.
• Only two-fifths (42%) of men 18-34 years old believed harassing phone calls, or spying using electronic means was a form of family violence.

Enough being done to address family violence

Q. Do you think enough is being done to address each of the following aspects of family violence in Australia?

 Not enough is being done

• Women are more likely than men to say that not enough is being done to address any aspect of family violence in Australia – particularly arresting and prosecuting perpetrators (73% women, 60% men).
• Liberal voters were less likely to say that not enough is being done to address family violence across the listed aspects.

Not enough is being done

PM Scott Morrison’s visit to the USA

Q. Last week, Scott Morrison made an official visit to the USA and held meetings with Donald Trump.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about this visit and relations with the USA?

• Men and Liberal voters tended to agree that Scott Morrison’s relationship with Donald Trump was beneficial to Australian, than Labor and Greens voters.

State of the economy

Q. Overall, how would you describe the current state of the Australian economy?

• Participants were quite mixed in their perceptions of the Australian economy, with an equal third believing the economy was in a good state (32%), poor state (33%) or neither good nor poor (32%).
• Compared to May’18, more participants felt that the economy is in a poor state (up 9 percentage points, to 33%), closer to the Dec’16 high of 36%.
• Liberal voters (45%) tended to be more positive in their evaluation of the economy than other voters (25%).