Performance of Scott Morrison

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

• Just under half of Australians (49%) approve of the job Scott Morrison is doing as PM. This is consistent with the results over the last three months (Aug’19, Jul’19 and Jun’19, all 48%) and 5pts higher than before the start of the Federal election campaign in March (43%).
• Morrison retains his high approval among Coalition voters (83%). Approval was also high among male (53%), university educated (57%), high income (57%) participants, and those with dependent children (57%).

Performance of Anthony Albanese

Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Anthony Albanese is doing as Opposition Leader?

• Approval for Anthony Albanese remains steady in September at 36% but a high proportion of participants continue to be unsure about Albanese’s performance with 33% saying don’t know (down 6pts from June).
• This uncertainty is also evident among Labor supporters, with 30% still selecting Don’t know.

Preferred Prime Minister

Q. Who do you think would makes the better Prime Minister out of Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese?

• 46% of the public believe Scott Morrison makes the better PM out of the two major party leaders. This is consistent with previous months (August to June), when 44% and 43% considered the current PM to be the better choice.
• One quarter (25%) believe Albanese would make the better PM, a 3 percentage point drop from last month (28% in July).

Policy of indefinite offshore detention of asylum seekers and refugees

Q. To what extent do you support or oppose the Australian Government’s policy of indefinite offshore detention of asylum seekers and refugees?

• Half of participants (52%) support the government’s policy of indefinite offshore detention of asylum seekers and refugees, with a quarter (25%) strongly supporting this policy.
• Roughly two-thirds of Coalition (67%) or independent/other (64%) voters support this policy – along with three-fifths of participants on high income (61%).
• Labor (44%) and Greens (55%) voters are more likely to oppose this policy.

Medivac Bill

Q. Earlier this year, the Federal Parliament passed legislation to allow doctors, not politicians, to determine the appropriate medical treatment offered to people in offshore detention. This may include medical evacuation (Medivac) transfer to Australia if necessary.

Which of the following statements most closely aligns with your views of this legislation?

• Two-fifths of participants (41%) believe that the Medivac legislation strikes a balance between strong borders and humane treatment for people in offshore detention – the same level as in Feb’19 (38%).
• The perception that the legislation will weaken our borders and result in boats arriving in Australia as they have in the past has decreased since Feb’19 to now one-fifth (now 21%, was 30%) of participants. At the same time the belief that this legislation does not go far enough to provide humane treatment for people in offshore detention has increased from 15% in Feb’19 to 23%.
• More Coalition voters (49%), men (45%) and participants living in capital cities (44%) believe that this legislation strikes a balance between strong borders and humane treatment for people in offshore detention.
• Whereas, Labor (32%) and Greens (50%) voters, younger (18-34, 31%) and university educated participants (31%) believe this does not go far enough to provide humane treatment for people in offshore detention.

Awareness of Climate Strikes

Q. On Friday 20th September, Student-led strikes are planned to take place across Australia and internationally, to push for governments to act on climate change and move towards renewable energy.

People of all ages will refuse to attend school and/or work to participate in these peaceful protests.

Before today, were you aware these protests were happening?

• More than half (54%) of participants were not aware that Climate Strikes would be occurring on 20^th
• Participants over 55 years old are more likely to be aware of the Climate Strikes (42%), as are university educated participants (42%).

Intended Involvement with the Climate Strikes

Q. Which of the following best describes your intended involvement with the protests?

• 5% of participants surveyed will be participating in the Climate Strikes on 20^th September, another 11% will be supporting the strikes in some other way.
• 18-34 year olds were more likely to participate in the protest (9%) or support it in some other way (19%).
• Greens voters are most likely to protest themselves (18%) or support the protesters in some other way (20%) as are high income earners (11% and 18% respectively).
• Those with a university education or in paid employment are also most likely to attend the protest (12% and 8% respectively), support the protesters (17% and 16%) or have family members/children who intend to participate (7% and 6%).
• 31% of participants over 55s and 26% of Coalition voters do not intend to support the Climate Strikes in any way.

Support for Climate Strikes

Q. Regardless of your intentions to participate, to what extent do you support or oppose these strikes to push for governments to act on climate change and move towards renewable energy?

• 55% of participants support using strike action to push for governments to act on climate change and move towards renewable energy.
• Greens voters (91%), 18-34 year olds (74%), Labor voters (68%), with a university education (67%) and those in paid employment (69%) were more likely to agree with this statement.
• Almost half (48%) of those with a secondary school education disagreed with this statement, along with 43% of participants over 55 years of and 41% of Coalition voters.