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 seekers, Greens, immigration, Labor, Liberal
Q. From what you have read and heard, what percentage of Australia’s annual immigration intake are asylum seekers arriving by boat?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| 50% or more | 10% | 10% | 12% | 6% |
| About 25% | 15% | 15% | 17% | 8% |
| About 10% | 13% | 12% | 15% | 13% |
| About 5% | 15% | 12% | 17% | 18% |
| 1% or less | 18% | 21% | 17% | 26% |
| Don’t know | 30% | 30% | 22% | 28% |
38% of respondents think asylum seekers arriving by boat make up at least 10% of Australia’s immigration intake – 15% think it about 5% and 18% think it is 1% or less.
26% of Greens voters think it is 1% or less and 44% of Liberal/National voters think it is 10% or more.
26% of people aged 45-64 think it is 1% or less. Comments »
approval of PM, asylum seekers, climate change, ETS, resources super profits tax, RSPT, rudd
If a little less or much less favourable –
Q. And which of the following would you say has been the main reason for your view of Kevin Rudd and the Labor Government becoming less favourable in recent weeks?
| Not honouring their election commitments | 24% |
| Too much spending | 15% |
| Too soft on asylum seekers | 15% |
| Problems with insulation and school building programs | 13% |
| The 40% tax on mining companies | 12% |
| Postponing introduction of ETS to address climate change | 7% |
| Too tough on asylum seekers | 4% |
| Some other reason | 7% |
| No particular reason | 6% |
Sample size = 642
Of those who had a less favourable view of Kevin Rudd and the Labor Government, 24% said their main reason was not honouring their election commitments, 15% too much spending and 15% thought the Government was too soft on asylum seekers.
Among Labor voters the main reasons were not honouring election commitments (30%) and problems with the insulation and school building programs (14%).
For Coalition voters the main reasons were not honouring election commitments (27%), the 40% tax on mining companies (18%) and too much spending (17%).
For Greens voters the main reasons were postponing the introduction of the ETS (34%) and problems with then insulation and school building programs (16%). Comments »
Abbott, Approval of opposition leader, asylum seekers, climate change, ETS, resources super profits tax, RSPT
If a little more or much more favourable –
Q. And which of the following would you say has been the main reason for your view of Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party becoming more favourable in recent weeks?
| Tony Abbott is more in touch with ordinary Australians | 21% |
| They would cut Government spending | 20% |
| They oppose the 40% tax on mining companies | 15% |
| They would be tough on asylum seekers | 12% |
| Liberal Party is more united under Tony Abbott | 11% |
| They oppose introduction of ETS to address climate change | 9% |
| Some other reason | 4% |
| No particular reason | 8% |
Sample size = 269
The main reasons for having a more favourable view of Tony Abbott and the Liberal Party were that Tony Abbott is more in touch with ordinary Australians (21%) and the Liberals would cut Government spending (20%). Opposing the 40% tax on mining companies rated third with 15%.
For Coalition voters the main reasons were that Tony Abbott is more in touch with ordinary Australians (24%) and the Liberals would cut Government spending (24%).
27% of those on higher incomes (over $1,000 pw) said Tony Abbott is more in touch with ordinary Australians compared to 12% of those on lower incomes (under $1,000 pw). 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 »