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Politicians Accused of an Offence

7 May 2012

Q. In general, if a politician is accused of an offence, do you think they should stand down from the positions they hold or should they be allowed to continue in their positions until a decision is made about their guilt or innocence?

 

Total

Vote Labor

Vote Lib/Nat

Vote Greens

Should stand down from their positions

62%

50%

73%

46%

Should be allowed to continue in their positions

27%

41%

20%

39%

Don’t know

10%

9%

8%

15%

62% think that if a politician is accused of an offence, they should stand down from the positions they hold and 27% think should they be allowed to continue in their positions until a decision is made about their guilt or innocence.

All demographic and voter groups were more likely to think they should stand down – although Labor (41%) and Greens (39%) voters recorded the highest support for allowing them to continue. Older respondents were more likely to think they should stand down – those aged 55+ split 72% stand down/23% continue and those aged 18-34 split 51% stand down/36% continue.

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