Party that represents blue-collar workers
Q. Which is the party that best represents the interests of blue-collar workers?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| Labor |
34% |
67% |
18% |
32% |
| Liberal |
21% |
5% |
39% |
2% |
| Greens |
2% |
1% |
1% |
20% |
| No difference |
15% |
7% |
19% |
16% |
| None of them |
10% |
6% |
10% |
17% |
| Don’t know |
18% |
13% |
14% |
13% |
34% think that the Labor Party best represents the interests of blue-collar workers and 21% think the Liberal Party does.
43% said none, no difference of did not know.
67% of Labor voters nominated the Labor Party and 39% of Liberal/National voters nominated the Liberal Party.
Party better at dealing with intolerance
Q. In your view, which party is better at dealing with the various forms of intolerance?
|
Labor |
Liberal |
Greens |
Other |
Don’t know |
|
| Racism |
17% |
23% |
11% |
2% |
46% |
| Sexism |
19% |
19% |
12% |
2% |
47% |
| Homophobia |
13% |
17% |
21% |
3% |
45% |
| Religious intolerance |
16% |
22% |
9% |
3% |
50% |
| Ageism |
16% |
20% |
8% |
3% |
52% |
With the exception of sexism, when compared to Labor, the Liberals are consistently regarded by respondents as being the party that is better at dealing with racism (23% Liberal, 17% Labor), homophobia (13% Labor, 17% Liberal), religious intolerance (16% Labor, 22% Liberal) and ageism (16% Labor, 20% Liberal).
On sexism, both the major parties are equally regarded as the party that is better at dealing with it (19% each).
The Greens are regarded as the best party to deal with homophobia (21%).
There were a high portion of don’t knows in this question, with either a majority or close to a majority of respondents selecting this option for each form of intolerance.
Election of Party Leaders
Q. Do you think party leaders should be elected mainly based on who voters favour or who the members of Parliament believe is the best person to lead their party?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| The person the voters favour |
56% |
52% |
62% |
40% |
| The person members of Parliament believe best to lead the party |
30% |
35% |
28% |
49% |
| Don’t know |
14% |
12% |
11% |
11% |
A majority of 56% think that party leaders should be elected mainly based on who voters favour and 30% think that the leadership should go to the person the members of Parliament believe is to lead their party.
Liberal/National voters are more likely to think the leader should be the person the voters favour (62%) while Greens voters tended to favour the person members of Parliament believe best (49%).
Older voters (aged 55+) were a little more likely to leave the judgment to the Parliamentarians although still prefer the person the voters favour 53% to 39%.
Preferred System for Electing Party Leaders
Q. Which of the following do you think would be the best way to elect national party leaders?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| The Australian system where the leader is elected by the Members of Parliament |
36% |
45% |
36% |
45% |
| The US system where registered voters in primaries elect the party’s candidate for President |
31% |
25% |
36% |
23% |
| The UK system where MPs, party members (and in Labour’s case, union members from affiliated unions) all get to vote for the party leader |
11% |
10% |
8% |
15% |
| Don’t know |
23% |
19% |
19% |
17% |
36% prefer the Australian system of electing the party leader – 31% prefer the US system and 11% the UK system.
Labor and Greens voters were more likely to prefer the Australian system (45%) and Liberal/National voters the US system (36%).
45% of people aged 55+ and 45% of those on income of $1,600+ pw favoured the Australian system.
Best Leader for GFC
Q. If there was another global financial crisis or a recession, which of the following would be best to lead Australia?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Kevin Rudd | 24% | 34% | 13% | 37% |
| Tony Abbott | 20% | 4% | 44% | – |
| Julia Gillard | 13% | 42% | 1% | 18% |
| Malcolm Turnbull | 13% | 7% | 17% | 17% |
| Joe Hockey | 7% | 1% | 11% | 3% |
| Don’t know | 22% | 12% | 15% | 25% |
24% think Kevin Rudd would be best to lead Australia if there was another GFC and 20% favour Tony Abbott.
Among Labor voters Julia Gillard is preferred over Kevin Rudd 42% to 34%. Support for the current party leaders among their own voters is very similar – 42% of Labor voters prefer Julia Gillard and 44% of Liberal/National voters prefer Tony Abbott.
Liberal party Leadership
Q. Which of the following do you think would make the best leader of the Liberal Party?
| 27 Sep 10 | 28 February 2011 | ||||
| Total | Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Tony Abbott | 26% | 24% | 9% | 45% | 1% |
| Malcolm Turnbull | 20% | 18% | 24% | 16% | 29% |
| Joe Hockey | 15% | 16% | 18% | 17% | 17% |
| Julie Bishop | 5% | 4% | 6% | 2% | 4% |
| Andrew Robb | na | 1% | 1% | 1% | 2% |
| Someone else | na | 14% | 18% | 8% | 27% |
| Don’t know | 33% | 22% | 23% | 10% | 20% |
24% of respondents believed that Tony Abbott is the best leader of the Liberal Party, 18% prefer Malcolm Turnbull and 16% Joe Hockey.
Tony Abbott is preferred by 45% of Liberal/National voters while Malcolm Turnbull is preferred by Labor (24%) and Greens voters (29%).
Tony Abbott is more preferred by men (30%) – women are split between Tony Abbott (19%) and Joe Hockey (19%). 23% of men prefer Malcolm Turnbull compared to 14% of women.
These figures are little changed since the question was last asked in September 2010.
Liberal Party Leadership
Q. Which of the following do you think would be the best person to lead the Liberal Party at the next election?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Tony Abbott | 23% | 5% | 50% | 5% |
| Malcolm Turnbull | 22% | 27% | 19% | 39% |
| Joe Hockey | 14% | 15% | 15% | 12% |
| Julie Bishop | 6% | 9% | 5% | 7% |
| Andrew Robb | 1% | 1% | 1% | – |
| Someone else | 15% | 22% | 3% | 18% |
| Don’t know | 19% | 21% | 7% | 19% |
23% think Tony Abbott would be the best person to lead the Liberal Party at the next election, 22% prefer Malcolm Turnbull and 14% Joe Hockey.
Among Coalition voters, 50% prefer Tony Abbott, 19% Malcolm Turnbull and 15% Joe Hockey.
Tony Abbott is preferred over Malcolm Turnbull by those aged under 45 22% to 19% but the over 45’s prefer Malcolm Turnbull over Tony Abbott 27% to 25%.
A similar question (although not exactly the same) asked in September showed Tony Abbott with a 26% to 20% lead over Malcolm Turnbull overall and 53% to 15% among Coalition voters. Joe Hockey’s support was 15% in total and 17% among Liberal voters. (more…)
Best to handle Immigration Issues
Q. Which leader and party do you trust most to handle immigration issues?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Liberal/ National | Vote Greens | |
| Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party | 35% | 6% | 83% | 9% |
| Julia Gillard and the Labor Party | 23% | 50% | 3% | 27% |
| No difference | 31% | 35% | 11% | 56% |
| Don’t know | 10% | 9% | 3% | 8% |
Overall, Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party are trusted most to handle immigration issues (35% to 23%). 31% think there is no difference between the major parties on immigration.
83% of Liberal/National voters trust Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party most and 50% of Labor voters trust Julia Gillard and the Labor Party. 56% of Greens voters think there is no difference. (more…)
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