Opinion of Changes to Health System
Q. And from what you’ve read or heard, do you support or oppose these changes in the health care system proposed by the Federal Government?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Heard a lot / something | Heard a little | |
| Total support | 36% | 59% | 21% | 46% | 50% | 24% |
| Total oppose | 13% | 1% | 22% | 6% | 17% | 9% |
| Strongly support | 8% | 20% | * | 8% | 13% | 3% |
| Support | 28% | 39% | 21% | 38% | 37% | 21% |
| Neither support nor oppose | 36% | 28% | 41% | 27% | 27% | 44% |
| Oppose | 8% | 1% | 13% | 5% | 9% | 7% |
| Strongly oppose | 5% | – | 9% | 1% | 8% | 2% |
| Don’t know | 16% | 11% | 16% | 20% | 7% | 23% |
* based on those who have heard a lot/something/a little.
Of those who had heard a lot/something/a little, 36% support the changes and 13% oppose. Labor voters support the changes 50% to 1% oppose and Greens voters support them 46%/6%. 41% of Liberal/National voters neither support nor oppose, while 21% support and 22% oppose.
Those who have heard a lot/something are more likely to support the changes – 50% compared to 24% of those who have only heard a little.
Federal politics – voting intention
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 = 1,899
| First preference/leaning to | Election
21 Aug 10 |
4 weeks ago | 2 weeks ago | Last week | This week |
| Liberal | 45% | 46% | 47% | 46% | |
| National | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% | |
| Total Lib/Nat | 43.6 | 47% | 49% | 50% | 49% |
| Labor | 38.0 | 32% | 32% | 30% | 31% |
| Greens | 11.8 | 12% | 11% | 11% | 11% |
| Other/Independent | 6.6 | 9% | 9% | 9% | 9% |
| 2PP | Election
21 Aug 10 |
4 weeks ago | 2 weeks ago | Last week | This week |
| Total Lib/Nat | 49.9% | 55% | 56% | 57% | 56% |
| Labor | 50.1% | 45% | 44% | 43% | 44% |
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.
Attributes to describe the Opposition Leader
Q. Which of the following describe your opinion of the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott?
| 5 Jul 10 | 4 Oct 10 | 7 Feb 11 | 27 Jun 11 | Change | |
| Intelligent | 70% | 71% | 64% | 61% | -3% |
| Hard-working | 76% | 78% | 72% | 75% | +3% |
| A capable leader | 47% | 52% | 48% | 45% | -3% |
| Arrogant | 59% | 60% | 58% | 60% | +2% |
| Out of touch with ordinary people | 57% | 53% | 54% | 57% | +3% |
| Understands the problems facing Australia | 50% | 53% | 50% | 48% | -2% |
| Visionary | 32% | 31% | 27% | 27% | – |
| Superficial | 45% | 49% | +4% | ||
| Good in a crisis | 40% | 42% | 41% | 40% | -1% |
| Narrow-minded | 56% | 53% | 51% | 54% | +3% |
| More honest than most politicians | 33% | 32% | 31% | 32% | +1% |
| Trustworthy | 33% | 35% | 34% | 32% | -2% |
Tony Abbott’s key attributes were hard-working (75%), intelligent (61%) and arrogant (60%).
There have only been minor changes since this question was asked in February.
Cost of Living
Q. What do you think is the main reason for the increasing cost of living?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| The strong Australian dollar | 17% | 30% | 9% | 17% |
| Excessive company profits | 18% | 24% | 10% | 27% |
| Lack of competition | 14% | 18% | 9% | 24% |
| Economic management of the Federal Government | 28% | 8% | 51% | 9% |
| Economic management of State Governments | 6% | 3% | 8% | 6% |
| Wage increases | 4% | 3% | 4% | 3% |
| Don’t know | 14% | 14% | 8% | 14% |
28% believe that economic management of the Federal Government is the main reason for the increasing cost of living. 18% blame excessive company profits and 17% the strong Australian dollar. Only 4% said wage increases.
Most of those blaming the Federal Government were Liberal/National voters. Labor voters nominated the strong Australian dollar and excessive company profits while Greens votes said excessive company profits and lack of competition.
Best Leader of the Labor Party
Q. Which of the following do you think would make the best leader of the Labor Party?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Julia Gillard | 23% | 51% | 10% | 26% |
| Kevin Rudd | 32% | 31% | 31% | 31% |
| Wayne Swan | 2% | 1% | 3% | 3% |
| Greg Combet | 4% | 5% | 3% | 6% |
| Bill Shorten | 3% | 3% | 3% | 4% |
| Someone else | 19% | 5% | 31% | 11% |
| Don’t know | 17% | 5% | 18% | 19% |
32% think Kevin Rudd would make the best leader of the Labor Party and 23% prefer Julia Gillard. Julia Gillard is preferred by 51% of Labor voters compared to 31% for Kevin Rudd. Men prefer Kevin Rudd over Julia Gillard 34% to 21% and women by 30% to 25%.
Best Leader of the Liberal Party
Q. Which of the following do you think would make the best leader of the Liberal Party?
| 27 Sep 2010 | 28 Feb 2011 | 30 May 2011 | ||||
| Total | Total | Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Tony Abbott | 26% | 24% | 22% | 10% | 40% | 7% |
| Malcolm Turnbull | 20% | 18% | 25% | 35% | 19% | 33% |
| Joe Hockey | 15% | 16% | 17% | 13% | 22% | 18% |
| Julie Bishop | 5% | 4% | 3% | 4% | 2% | 1% |
| Andrew Robb | na | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Someone else | na | 14% | 13% | 17% | 7% | 16% |
| Don’t know | 33% | 22% | 19% | 20% | 8% | 22% |
25% (+7%) think Malcolm Turnbull would make the best leader of the Liberal Party, 22% (-3%) prefer Tony Abbott and 17% (+1%) Joe Hockey.
Among Liberal/National voters, 40% prefer Tony Abbott, 22% Joe Hockey and 19% Malcolm Turnbull.
Malcolm Turnbull is preferred by 25% of men and 24% of women, Tony Abbott by 24% of men and 19% of women.
Reason for Budget Deficit
Q. The Federal Government is currently running a budget deficit, but intends to return to surplus in 2012-13. Which of the following do you think is most responsible for the deficit?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Poor economic management by the Government | 23% | 5% | 43% | 8% |
| The cost of the Government’s GFC stimulus packages | 19% | 19% | 20% | 21% |
| Big companies not paying their fair share of taxes | 17% | 29% | 6% | 30% |
| Spending on big projects like the National Broadband Network | 14% | 8% | 18% | 10% |
| Lower tax revenues because of the Global Financial Crisis | 13% | 25% | 4% | 19% |
| Don’t know | 15% | 14% | 9% | 11% |
Overall, respondents believe the main reasons for the budget deficit are poor economic management by the Government (23%), the cost of the Government’s GFC stimulus (19%) and big companies not paying their fair share of taxes (17%).
Labor voters were most likely to blame big companies not paying their fair share of taxes (29%) and lower tax revenues because of the GFC (25%) while Liberal/National voters blame poor economic management by the Government (43%). Greens voters tended to blame big companies not paying their fair share of taxes (30%).
Form of Compensation Preferred
Q. The Federal Government says that the funds raised from the carbon tax will be used to compensate those affected by price increases. Which of the following forms of compensation do you favour?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| A direct payment to households | 39% | 44% | 37% | 50% |
| An income tax cut | 33% | 36% | 34% | 26% |
| A cut to the GST rate | 13% | 11% | 17% | 8% |
| Cuts to corporate taxes | 2% | 1% | 2% | 1% |
| Don’t know | 13% | 8% | 10% | 14% |
39% favour compensation as a direct payment to households and 33% favour income tax cuts. Greens voters (50%) and Labor voters (44%) are most likely to favour a direct payment while Coalition voters split 37% direct payment/34% tax cut.
Older people strongly favour a direct payment – among those aged 55+, 51% favour direct payment and 21% a tax cut, while for those aged 18-44, 39% favour a tax cut and 33% favour a direct payment.
Essential Report
Two Party Preferred: 14 May 2019
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