asylum, border security, Manus Island, medivac, medivac bill, offshore detention, refugees
Q. Earlier this year, the Federal Parliament passed legislation to allow doctors, not politicians, more say in determining 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?
| Nov’19 | Sep’19 | Feb’19 | |
| This legislation does not go far enough to provide humane treatment for people in offshore detention | 25% | 23% | 16% |
| This legislation strikes a balance between strong borders and humane treatment for people in offshore detention | 37% | 41% | 38% |
| This legislation will weaken our borders and result in boats arriving in Australia as they have in the past | 22% | 20% | 30% |
| Unsure | 17% | 18% | 16% |
| Base (n) | 1,083 | 1,093 | 1,085 |
| Total | Gender | Age | ||||
| Male | Female | 18-34 | 35-54 | 55+ | ||
| This legislation does not go far enough to provide humane treatment for people in offshore detention | 25% | 24% | 26% | 28% | 26% | 21% |
| This legislation strikes a balance between strong borders and humane treatment for people in offshore detention | 37% | 39% | 35% | 42% | 34% | 35% |
| This legislation will weaken our borders and result in boats arriving in Australia as they have in the past | 22% | 23% | 20% | 10% | 21% | 33% |
| Unsure | 17% | 14% | 19% | 20% | 20% | 11% |
| Base (n) | 1,083 | 527 | 556 | 329 | 369 | 385 |
| Total | Voting Intention | ||||
| Labor | Coalition | Greens | NET: Other | ||
| This legislation does not go far enough to provide humane treatment for people in offshore detention | 25% | 33% | 15% | 51% | 19% |
| This legislation strikes a balance between strong borders and humane treatment for people in offshore detention | 37% | 38% | 44% | 29% | 27% |
| This legislation will weaken our borders and result in boats arriving in Australia as they have in the past | 22% | 14% | 29% | 6% | 39% |
| Unsure | 17% | 15% | 12% | 15% | 15% |
| Base (n) | 1,083 | 342 | 373 | 93 | 162 |
asylum, asylum seekers, Essential Report, Polling, polls
Q. As far as you know, has the number of asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat, increased or decreased over the last 12 months?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Total increased | 62% | 51% | 74% | 36% |
| Total decreased | 7% | 10% | 5% | 11% |
| Increased a lot | 36% | 24% | 50% | 7% |
| Increased a little | 26% | 27% | 24% | 29% |
| Stayed about the same | 20% | 28% | 14% | 33% |
| Decreased a little | 6% | 8% | 5% | 9% |
| Decreased a lot | 1% | 2% | * | 2% |
| Don’t know | 11% | 11% | 6% | 20% |
62% believe that the number of asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat has increased over the last 12 months, 20% think it has stayed the same and 7% think it has decreased. 74% of Liberal/National voters think it has increased compared to 51% of Labor voters and 36% of Greens voters.
Of those who think it has increased, 59% said they were very concerned (in answer to the previous question) – and of those who think it has stayed the same or decreased, only 18% were very concerned.
asylum, asylum seekers, boat, refugees
Q. Which of the following comes is closest to your view?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| All asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat should be sent back to the country they came from even if they are genuine refugees | 31% | 26% | 38% | 22% |
| Asylum seekers arriving by boat should only be allowed to stay in Australia if they are found to be genuine refugees | 59% | 67% | 56% | 66% |
| All asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat should be allowed to stay | 4% | 4% | 2% | 10% |
| Don’t know | 6% | 3% | 4% | 2% |
59% agreed with the statement that “asylum seekers arriving by boat should only be allowed to stay in Australia if they are found to be genuine refugees” and 31% agreed that “all asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat should be sent back to the country they came from even if they are genuine refugees”. Only 4% (including 10% of Greens voters) agreed that “all asylum seekers arriving in Australia by boat should be allowed to stay”.
Women were more likely to think genuine refugees should be allowed to stay (61% compared to 57% of men). 28% of those aged 55+ thought all asylum seekers should be sent back compared to 33% of those aged under 55. Comments »
asylum, asylum seekers, economy, Education, Government performance, Health, Industrial Relations
Q6. How would you rate the Federal Government’s performance in handling the following issues?
| Total good | Total poor | Very good | Good | Poor | Very poor | Not sure | |
| Stimulating the economy to address the economic crisis | 63% | 29% | 21% | 42% | 19% | 10% | 8% |
| Handling the economy in such a way as to minimize job losses during the recent economic crisis | 59% | 29% | 15% | 44% | 18% | 11% | 12% |
| Trying to find ways to improve the health care system | 50% | 39% | 10% | 39% | 24% | 15% | 12% |
| Replacing the Workchoices industrial laws | 44% | 36% | 13% | 31% | 22% | 14% | 20% |
| Standing up for Australian working families | 43% | 45% | 9% | 34% | 24% | 21% | 13% |
| Balancing the interests of business and Australian workers | 39% | 43% | 5% | 34% | 25% | 18% | 18% |
| The school buildings program | 31% | 56% | 5% | 25% | 29% | 27% | 14% |
| Introducing an emissions trading scheme | 28% | 57% | 3% | 25% | 28% | 29% | 15% |
| Handling the issue of asylum seekers | 18% | 72% | 3% | 15% | 28% | 43% | 10% |
A majority of respondents rated the Government’s performance good or very good for “Stimulating the economy to address the economic crisis” (63%), “Handling the economy in such a way as to minimize job losses during the recent economic crisis” (59%) and “Trying to find ways to improve the health care system” (50%).
A majority rated the Government’s performance poor or very poor for “Handling the issue of asylum seekers” (72%), “Introducing an emissions trading scheme” (57%) and “The school buildings program” (56%).
The only issue on which less than half Labor voters rated the Government performance as good/very good was “Handling the issue of asylum seekers” (34% good/58% poor). Comments »
afghanistan, asylum, asylum seekers, Sri Lanka
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the Federal Government’s recent decision to suspend processing of any refugee claims from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Liberal/National | Vote Greens | |
| Total approve | 69% | 70% | 80% | 47% |
| Total disapprove | 15% | 16% | 11% | 42% |
| Strongly approve | 39% | 40% | 43% | 23% |
| Approve | 30% | 30% | 37% | 24% |
| Disapprove | 10% | 13% | 9% | 17% |
| Strongly disapprove | 5% | 3% | 2% | 25% |
| Don’t know | 15% | 15% | 9% | 10% |
69% approve the Federal Government’s recent decision to suspend processing of any refugee claims from Sri Lanka and Afghanistan and 15% disapprove.
By voting intention, 70% of Labor voters approve and 80% of Liberal/National voters approve. Greens voters are split – 47% approve and 42% disapprove. Comments »
asylum, asylum seekers, immigration
Q. Do you think the Federal Labor Government is too tough or too soft on asylum seekers or is it taking the right approach?
| % | |
| Too tough | 6% |
| Too soft | 65% |
| Taking the right approach | 18% |
| Don’t know | 11% |
Most people (65%) think the Federal Labor Government is too soft on asylum seekers, 18% think the Government is taking the right approach, 6% think they are too tough and 11% don’t know.
Labor voters were more likely to think the Government is taking the right approach (31%), Coalition voters were more likely to think the Government is being too soft (90%) and Green voters were more likely to think the approach is too tough (24%).
56% of Labor voters and 25% of Green voters think the Government is being too soft on asylum seekers.
18 – 24 year olds were more likely to think the Government is taking the right approach (29%), while people aged 55 years and over were more likely to think the Government is too soft on asylum seekers (76%).
Males were more likely than females to think the Government is being too soft (69% v 62%).
When we asked a similar question in April last year, we found that 55% thought the Government was being too soft on asylum seekers, 26% thought the Government’s approach was about right and 4% thought the Government was too tough. Comments »
asylum, asylum seekers, Greens, immigration, Labor, Liberal
Q. Which party would you trust most to handle the issue of asylum seekers?
| % | |
| The Labor Party | 23% |
| The Liberal Party | 34% |
| No difference | 28% |
| Don’t know | 15% |
34% of people trust the Liberal Party most to handle the issue of asylum seekers and 23% trust the Labor Party more. 28% think there is no difference and 15% don’t know.
Results followed party lines – Labor voters were more likely to trust Labor (46%) and Coalition voters were more likely to trust Liberal most (77%). Green voters were more likely to trust Labor when it comes to handling the issue of asylum seekers (38%).
34% of Labor voters think there is no difference when it comes to which party they trust to handle the issue.
People aged 55 years and over were more likely to trust the Liberal party to handle the issue (49%), while those aged 18 – 24 were more likely to trust Labor (38%).
In November 2009, we asked people which party they think is best to handle the issue of asylum seekers. We found that 23% thought Labor, 27% thought Liberal and 37% thought there would be no difference in terms of which party would be best to handle the issue. Comments »
approach to asylum seekers, asylum, asylum seeker issue, asylum seekers, EMC, ER, essential report, Labor, Liberal
Q. Which party do you think would be best at handling the issue of asylum seekers?
| % | |
| Labor | 23% |
| Liberal | 27% |
| No difference | 37% |
| Don’t know | 13% |
27% of people surveyed think Liberal is the best party at handling the issue of asylum seekers, 23% think Labor is and 37% think there is no difference in how the two major parties would handle the issue.
Attitudes followed party lines – Coalition voters were more likely to prefer Liberal (65%) and Labor voters more likely to prefer Labor (65%).
54% of Green, 38% of Labor voters and 24% of Coalition voters think there is no difference between how Liberal or Labor would handle the issue of asylum seekers.
People aged 55 years and over were more likely to think Liberal would be best (36% Liberal to 22% Labor), while people aged under 35 were more likely to think Labor would be best at handling the issue of asylum seekers (27% Labor to 20% Liberal).
Males were more likely to think Liberal would be the party best to handle the issue (31%), while females were more likely to think there is no difference (40%).