Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Bill Shorten is doing as Opposition Leader?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | Apr 2018 | Mar 2018 | Dec 2017 | |||
| Total Approve | 37% | 65% | 25% | 36% | 13% | 35% | 37% | 36% | ||
| Total Disapprove | 41% | 19% | 60% | 37% | 67% | 43% | 44% | 45% | ||
| Strongly approve | 8% | 17% | 4% | 5% | 1% | 6% | 8% | 7% | ||
| Approve | 29% | 48% | 21% | 31% | 12% | 29% | 29% | 29% | ||
| Disapprove | 21% | 16% | 26% | 29% | 25% | 22% | 23% | 23% | ||
| Strongly disapprove | 20% | 3% | 34% | 8% | 42% | 21% | 21% | 22% | ||
| Don’t know | 23% | 16% | 14% | 27% | 19% | 23% | 19% | 19% |
65% (up 6%) of ALP voters approved of the job Bill Shorten is doing, compared to 36% of Greens voters and 25% of Liberal/National voters.37% approved of the job Bill Shorten is doing as Opposition Leader (up 2% from last month), and 41% disapproved (down 2%) – a change in net approval rating from -8 to -4.
By gender, men were 42% approve/43% disapprove and women 31% approve/39% disapprove.
Bill Shorten, Opposition leader
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the job Bill Shorten is doing as Opposition Leader?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | Apr 2017 | Mar 2017 | Feb 2017 | Jan 2017 | Dec 2016 | Dec 2015 | Dec 2014 | |||
| Total Approve | 34% | 62% | 20% | 33% | 21% | 33% | 30% | 30% | 37% | 35% | 27% | 35% | ||
| Total Disapprove | 45% | 18% | 68% | 46% | 64% | 46% | 49% | 47% | 44% | 38% | 47% | 39% | ||
| Strongly approve | 6% | 14% | 2% | 6% | 1% | 5% | 4% | 5% | 7% | 6% | 4% | 7% | ||
| Approve | 28% | 48% | 18% | 27% | 20% | 28% | 26% | 25% | 30% | 29% | 23% | 28% | ||
| Disapprove | 26% | 15% | 33% | 37% | 33% | 26% | 26% | 27% | 25% | 21% | 26% | 23% | ||
| Strongly disapprove | 19% | 3% | 35% | 9% | 31% | 20% | 23% | 20% | 19% | 17% | 21% | 16% | ||
| Don’t know | 22% | 20% | 12% | 21% | 15% | 22% | 22% | 22% | 20% | 25% | 25% | 26% |
34% approved of the job Bill Shorten is doing as Prime Minister (up 1% from last month), and 45% disapproved (down 1%).
62% of ALP voters approved of the job Bill Shorten is doing, compared to 33% of Greens voters and 20% of Liberal/National voters.
Bill Shorten, malcolm turnbull, Prime Minister
Q. Who do you think would make the better Prime Minister out of Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Vote other | Apr 2017 | Mar 2017 | Feb 2017 | Jan 2017 | Dec 2016 | Jun 2016 | Dec 2015 | Dec 2014 | |||
| Malcolm Turnbull | 39% | 11% | 85% | 12% | 34% | 39% | 38% | 39% | 39% | 39% | 40% | 54% | 54% | ||
| Bill Shorten | 31% | 61% | 4% | 59% | 17% | 28% | 26% | 25% | 28% | 28% | 29% | 15% | 15% | ||
| Don’t know | 30% | 27% | 11% | 30% | 49% | 32% | 36% | 36% | 33% | 33% | 32% | 31% | 31% |
39% thought that Malcolm Turnbull would make a better Prime Minister (unchanged from last month), and 31% thought Bill Shorten would be better (up 3%).
The results were split by party, with 85% of Liberal/National voters saying that Malcolm Turnbull would be a better Prime Minister, and 61% of ALP voters saying the Bill Shorten would.
Greens voters preferred Bill Shorten (59% preferred) to Turnbull (12%).
Bill Shorten, leader attributes
Q: Which of the following describe your opinion of the Opposition Leader, Bill Shorten?
| Total | May 3 2016 | Change | |||
| Hard working | 60% | 62% | -2 | ||
| Intelligent | 60% | 60% | – | ||
| Understands the problems facing Australia | 50% | 50% | – | ||
| Superficial | 44% | 43% | +1 | ||
| A capable leader | 43% | 41% | +2 | ||
| Out of touch with ordinary people | 42% | 44% | -2 | ||
| Narrow-minded | 40% | 40% | – | ||
| Arrogant | 40% | 38% | +2 | ||
| Erratic | 37% | 37% | – | ||
| Good in a crisis | 37% | 34% | +3 | ||
| Trustworthy | 31% | 33% | -2 | ||
| Aggressive | 30% | 33% | -3 | ||
| Intolerant | 30% | 31% | -1 | ||
| Visionary | 28% | 29% | -1 | ||
| More honest than most politicians | 26% | 26% | – |
Bill Shorten’s key attributes were hard working (60%), intelligent (60%) and understands the problems facing Australia (50%).
There have been no significant changes over the last 3 weeks.
Bill Shorten, leader attributes, malcolm turnbull
| Malcolm Turnbull | Bill Shorten | Difference | ||
| Out of touch with ordinary people | 63% | 42% | +21 | |
| Intelligent | 76% | 60% | +16 | |
| A capable leader | 55% | 43% | +12 | |
| Visionary | 40% | 28% | +12 | |
| Arrogant | 51% | 40% | +11 | |
| Good in a crisis | 48% | 37% | +11 | |
| More honest than most politicians | 36% | 26% | +10 | |
| Trustworthy | 37% | 31% | +6 | |
| Superficial | 48% | 44% | +4 | |
| Intolerant | 34% | 30% | +4 | |
| Narrow-minded | 41% | 40% | +1 | |
| Aggressive | 31% | 30% | +1 | |
| Hard-working | 60% | 60% | – | |
| Understands the problems facing Australia | 47% | 50% | -3 | |
| Erratic | 34% | 37% | -3 |
Compared to Bill Shorten, Malcolm Turnbull is more likely to be considered out of touch with ordinary people (+21), intelligent (+16%), a capable leader (+12%) and visionary (+12%).
Bill Shorten, Election Issues, leader trust, malcolm turnbull
Q: Which leader – Malcolm Turnbull or Bill Shorten – would you trust most to handle the following issues?
| Malcolm Turnbull | Bill Shorten | Don’t know | Difference | ||
| Regulating the banking and finance sector | 33% | 27% | 39% | +6 | |
| Supporting Australia’s manufacturing industries | 30% | 31% | 39% | -1 | |
| Ensuring big companies pay their share of tax | 28% | 34% | 38% | -6 | |
| Protecting the Great Barrier Reef | 21% | 27% | 52% | -6 | |
| Funding hospitals | 27% | 35% | 38% | -8 | |
| Addressing climate change | 21% | 29% | 50% | -8 | |
| Making housing more affordable for first home buyers | 23% | 32% | 44% | -9 | |
| Looking after the needs of pensioners | 21% | 35% | 44% | -14 | |
| Funding public schools | 24% | 40% | 36% | -16 | |
| Maintaining workers’ wages and conditions | 21% | 43% | 35% | -22 |
Bill Shorten is trusted more for maintaining workers’ wages and conditions (+22), funding public schools (+16) and looking after the needs of pensioners (+14).
Approval rating, Bill Shorten, Opposition leader
Q: Do you approve or disapprove of the job Bill Shorten is doing as Opposition Leader?
Total |
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote other |
|
Nov 2013 |
June 2014 |
Dec 2014 |
Jun 2015 |
Dec 2015 |
Jan 2016 |
Feb 2016 |
Mar 2016 |
|
| Total approve | 30% | 60% | 16% | 44% | 14% | 31% | 38% | 35% | 32% | 27% | 27% | 27% | 27% | ||
| Total disapprove | 44% | 18% | 65% | 39% | 62% | 27% | 40% | 39% | 45% | 47% | 47% | 48% | 47% | ||
| Strongly approve | 5% | 13% | <1% | 6% | 1% | 5% | 7% | 7% | 6% | 4% | 4% | 5% | 3% | ||
| Approve | 25% | 47% | 15% | 38% | 13% | 26% | 31% | 28% | 26% | 23% | 23% | 22% | 24% | ||
| Disapprove | 22% | 16% | 25% | 25% | 33% | 17% | 22% | 23% | 27% | 26% | 28% | 26% | 29% | ||
| Strongly disapprove | 22% | 2% | 40% | 14% | 29% | 10% | 18% | 16% | 18% | 21% | 19% | 22% | 18% | ||
| Don’t know | 25% | 22% | 20% | 18% | 24% | 43% | 22% | 26% | 22% | 25% | 26% | 25% | 26% |
30% (up 3%) of respondents approve of the job Bill Shorten is doing as opposition leader and 44% (down 3%) disapprove – a change in his net rating from -20 to -14.
60% (up 9%) of Labor voters approve of the job Bill Shorten is doing and 18% (down 6%) disapprove.
30% of men and 30% of women approve of Bill Shorten. 51% of men and 38% of women disapprove.
Better PM, Bill Shorten, malcolm turnbull, Prime Minister
Q: Who do you think would make the better Prime Minister out of Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten?
Total |
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote other |
|
Sep 2015 |
Oct 2015 |
Nov 2015 |
Dec 2015 |
Jan 2016 |
Feb 2016 |
Mar 2016 |
|
| Malcolm Turnbull | 44% | 17% | 79% | 31% | 37% | 53% | 48% | 55% | 54% | 51% | 52% | 48% | ||
| Bill Shorten | 22% | 52% | 3% | 40% | 10% | 17% | 19% | 14% | 15% | 18% | 15% | 19% | ||
| Don’t know | 34% | 31% | 18% | 29% | 53% | 30% | 33% | 31% | 31% | 31% | 33% | 33% |
44% (down 4%) of respondents think Malcolm Turnbull would make the better Prime Minister and 22% (up 3%) think Bill Shorten would make the better Prime Minister.
49% of men prefer Malcolm Turnbull and 22% prefer Bill Shorten.
39% of women prefer Malcolm Turnbull and 23% prefer Bill Shorten.