Q. The US Government is reportedly intending to lay charges against Julian Assange as head of Wikileaks. Should Julian Assange receive support and assistance from the Australian Government if he is charged with an offence by the US or another country?

50% believe that Julian Assange should receive support and assistance from the Australian Government if he is charged with an offence by the US or another country and 26% think he should not – 24% have no opinion. A majority of voters for each of the major parties believed that Government support should be given.

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Q. Do you support or oppose Australia developing nuclear power plants for the generation of electricity?

43% support Australia developing nuclear power plants for the generation of electricity and 35% oppose. These figures are almost identical to the results obtained when this question was last asked in January 2009.

Coalition voters show majority support (56%/31%), Greens voters are strongly opposed (25%/65%) and Labor voters split 41%/41%.

There are substantial differences by gender – 63% of men support and 26% oppose but women oppose 48% to 25%.

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First Published on The Drum 14/12/2010

Here is the word cloud that will prick a thousand egos – and restore some reality to the debate about the future of the media.

In an era of celebrity journos building Twitter empires and media business models inspired by the porn industry, the truth is that very few members of the public have any idea who is writing or reporting their daily news.

That’s what Essential Research found while working with the Media Alliance’s Future of Journalism Project – when asked to name  a journalist, the vast majority of respondents could come up with only one name: ‘Don’t Know’.

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First Published on The Drum 07/12/2010

It was a year ago today that the hottest gig in global warming opened in Copenhagen, amidst expectations that the world’s leaders would rise above their geographical interests and make a stand for the future.

Twelve months on and the hopes of Copenhagen seem as retro as a Midnight Oil album, the world has opted to sleep even when our beds are burning.

While the lack of political action over the past year has been well documented, this week’s Essential Report picks up another dynamic that is both a response to and a driver for this inertia. For the first time, we have found less than 50 per cent of Australians think climate change is real.

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Q. If a Federal Election was held today to which party will you probably give your first preference vote? If not sure, which party are you currently leaning toward?

Q. If don’t know -Well which party are you currently leaning to?

sample size = 1,896

NB.  The data in the above tables comprise 2-week averages derived the first preference/leaning to voting questions.  Respondents who select ‘don’t know’ are not included in the results.  The two-party preferred estimate is calculated by distributing the votes of the other parties according to their preferences at the 2010 election.

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Q. Here is a list of things both favourable and unfavourable that have been said about Federal political parties.  Which statements do you feel fit the Labor Party/Liberal Party/Greens?

Compared to the other two parties, Labor are thought more likely to promise to do anything to win votes (50%) and be divided (30%). Only 6% think they are extreme and 10% think they are clear about what they stand for. Key attributes among Labor voters are – understands the problems facing Australia (48%), looks after the interests of working people (44%) and have a vision for the future (41%).

The Liberal Party is more likely to understand the problems facing Australia (30%), be too close to the big corporate and financial interests (29%) and have a good team of leaders (23%). 21% think they are clear about what they stand for. Key attributes among Coalition voters are – understands the problems facing Australia (63%), has a good team of leaders (47%), have a vision for the future (46%) and clear about what they stand for (45%).

The Greens are more likely to bee seen as extreme (39%) and clear about what they stand for (29%). Key attributes among Greens voters are – understands the problems facing Australia (71%), clear about what they stand for (63%) and have a vision for the future (60%).

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Q. Do you agree that there is fairly conclusive evidence that climate change is happening and caused by human activity or do you believe that the evidence is still not in and we may just be witnessing a normal fluctuation in the Earth’s climate which happens from time to time?ear

45% believe that climate change is happening and is caused by human activity (down 8% since last surveyed in Nov 2009), 36% think we are just witnessing a normal fluctuation in the Earth’s climate (up 2%) and 19% don’t know (up 6%).

Those most likely to think climate change is happening and is caused by human activity were Greens voters (76%), Labor voters (53%), women (49%) and aged 18-35 (50%).

Those most likely to think it is a normal fluctuation in the Earth’s climate were Liberal/National voters (53%), aged 55+ (47%) and men (40%).

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