Essential Report, federal politics, Greens, Julia Gillard, Labor, Liberal, Nationals, Polling, tony abbott
Q. Who do you think would make the better Prime Minister out of Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott?
| 5 Jul 2010 | 14 Mar | 14 June | 12 Sept | 17 Oct | 14 Nov | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Julia Gillard | 53% | 44% | 41% | 36% | 38% | 41% | 83% | 7% | 80% |
| Tony Abbott | 26% | 33% | 36% | 40% | 39% | 36% | 5% | 73% | 4% |
| Don’t know | 21% | 23% | 24% | 24% | 23% | 24% | 12% | 20% | 17% |
41% believe Julia Gillard would make the better Prime Minister and 36% prefer Tony Abbott – a net improvement for Julia Gillard of 6% on last month’s figures (from -1% to +5%). This is the best result for Julia Gillard since June.
Men are evenly split 39%/39% and women favour Julia Gillard 42%/33%.
2PP, Essential Report, Federal Government, federal politics, Greens, Labor, Liberal, Nationals, Polling, two party preferred, voting, 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 = 1,888 respondents
| First preference/leaning to | Election
21 Aug 10 |
4 weeks ago | 2 weeks ago | Last week | This week |
| Liberal | 46% | 45% | 45% | 45% | |
| National | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% | |
| Total Lib/Nat | 43.6% | 49% | 48% | 48% | 48% |
| Labor | 38.0% | 32% | 33% | 33% | 32% |
| Greens | 11.8% | 12% | 10% | 11% | 11% |
| Other/Independent | 6.6% | 8% | 9% | 8% | 8% |
| 2PP | Election
21 Aug 10 |
4 weeks ago | 2 weeks ago | Last week | This week |
| Total Lib/Nat | 49.9% | 56% | 55% | 55% | 55% |
| Labor | 50.1% | 44% | 45% | 45% | 45% |
NB. The data in the above tables comprise 2-week averages derived from 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.
2PP, Essential Report, Federal Government, federal politics, Greens, Labor, Liberal, Nationals, Polling, two party preferred, voting, 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 = 1,905 respondents
| First preference/leaning to | Election
21 Aug 10 |
4 weeks ago | 2 weeks ago | Last week | This week |
| Liberal | 46% | 45% | 45% | 45% | |
| National | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% | |
| Total Lib/Nat | 43.6% | 49% | 48% | 48% | 48% |
| Labor | 38.0% | 32% | 33% | 33% | 33% |
| Greens | 11.8% | 10% | 11% | 10% | 11% |
| Other/Independent | 6.6% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 8% |
| 2PP | Election
21 Aug 10 |
4 weeks ago | 2 weeks ago | Last week | This week |
| Total Lib/Nat | 49.9% | 56% | 55% | 55% | 55% |
| Labor | 50.1% | 44% | 45% | 45% | 45% |
NB. The data in the above tables comprise 2-week averages derived from 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.
2PP, Essential Report, Federal Government, federal politics, Greens, Labor, Liberal, Nationals, Polling, two party preferred, voting, 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 = 1909 respondents
| First preference/leaning to | Election
21 Aug 10 |
4 weeks ago | 2 weeks ago | Last week | This week |
| Liberal | 46% | 46% | 45% | 45% | |
| National | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% | |
| Total Lib/Nat | 43.6% | 49% | 49% | 48% | 48% |
| Labor | 38.0% | 32% | 32% | 33% | 33% |
| Greens | 11.8% | 10% | 12% | 11% | 10% |
| Other/Independent | 6.6% | 10% | 8% | 9% | 9% |
| 2PP | Election
21 Aug 10 |
4 weeks ago | 2 weeks ago | Last week | This week |
| Total Lib/Nat | 49.9% | 56% | 56% | 55% | 55% |
| Labor | 50.1% | 44% | 44% | 45% | 45% |
NB. The data in the above tables comprise 2-week averages derived from 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.
2PP, Essential Report, Federal Government, federal politics, Greens, Labor, Liberal, Nationals, Polling, two party preferred, voting, 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 = 1909 respondents
| First preference/leaning to | Election
21 Aug 10 |
4 weeks ago | 2 weeks ago | Last week | This week |
| Liberal | 46% | 46% | 46% | 45% | |
| National | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% | |
| Total Lib/Nat | 43.6% | 49% | 49% | 49% | 48% |
| Labor | 38.0% | 30% | 32% | 32% | 33% |
| Greens | 11.8% | 11% | 10% | 12% | 11% |
| Other/Independent | 6.6% | 10% | 9% | 8% | 9% |
| 2PP | Election
21 Aug 10 |
4 weeks ago | 2 weeks ago | Last week | This week |
| Total Lib/Nat | 49.9% | 57% | 56% | 56% | 55% |
| Labor | 50.1% | 43% | 44% | 44% | 45% |
NB. The data in the above tables comprise 2-week averages derived from 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.
Abbott, Approval of opposition leader, Essential Report, federal politics, Polling, tony abbott
Q. Which of the following statements is closest to your view about the performance of Tony Abbott as Opposition leader?
| 7 Mar 2011 | 6 Jun 2011 | Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | ||
| Tony Abbott is performing the role of Opposition leader well and is keeping the Government accountable | 41% | 42% | 38% | 6% | 77% | 10% | |
| Tony Abbott is just opposing everything and is obstructing the work of the Government | 43% | 44% | 45% | 82% | 11% | 77% | |
| Don’t know | 16% | 15% | 17% | 12% | 11% | 13% |
The proportion of respondents that believe that Tony Abbott is performing the role of Opposition Leader well is 38%, down four points from when the question was last asked on 6 June 2011. Coalition voters are far more likely to regard Abbott as performing the role well (77%).
Forty five per cent (45%) of respondents believe that Abbott is just opposing everything and is obstructing the work of Government (45%), a result that is fairly consistent with the previous occasions on which the question has been polled. Labor voters are the most likely to agree with this position (82%), as are Greens voters (77%).
Respondents aged 65+ are much more likely to regard Abbott as performing well (56%).
Respondents from Queensland were also somewhat more likely to regard Abbott as doing well (44%).
balance of power, Essential Report, Federal Government, federal politics, Greens, house of representatives, Labor, Liberal, Nationals, Polling, Senate
Q. Thinking about the Federal Government, which of the following scenarios would you prefer –
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Green | |
| One of the major parties having a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate | 36% | 36% | 49% | 7% |
| One of the major parties having a majority in the House of Representatives and the other having a majority in the Senate | 21% | 16% | 27% | 10% |
| One of the major parties having a majority in the House of Representatives and the Greens having the balance of power in the Senate | 16% | 22% | 4% | 63% |
| Don’t know | 28% | 26% | 21% | 19% |
Most respondents think that ‘one of the major parties having a majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate’ is preferable (36%). Lib/Nat voters are the most likely to prefer this scenario (49%) and Greens voters the least likely to do so (7%). Male respondents were also more likely to prefer this scenario (40%) than female respondents (32%).
Respondents then selected ‘one of the major parties having a majority in the House of Representatives and the other having a majority in the Senate’ as their next preferred scenario (21%). Lib/Nat voters are the most likely to regard this scenario as preferable (27%).
The least favoured option amongst respondents is ‘one of the major parties having a majority in the House of Representatives and the Greens having the balance of power in the Senate’, with 16% selecting this option. Greens voters are the most likely to regard this option as the most preferable (63%).
Essential Report, federal politics, Liberal, Nationals, Polling, Senate
Q. If the Liberal and National Parties win the next election, do you think it would be good or bad if they also won a majority in the Senate?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Total Good | 38% | 10% | 73% | 6% |
| Total Bad | 31% | 63% | 3% | 72% |
| Very good | 17% | 3% | 35% | 0% |
| Good | 21% | 7% | 38% | 6% |
| Neither good nor bad | 18% | 18% | 16% | 15% |
| Bad | 12% | 23% | 3% | 18% |
| Very bad | 19% | 40% | 0% | 54% |
| Don’t know | 13% | 8% | 8% | 7% |
Most respondents think that having the Liberal and National Parties holding a majority in the Senate is a good outcome (38%), than those that think it is a bad outcome (31%).
Greens voters are the most likely to regard the outcome as bad (72%), followed by Labor voters (63%).
Male respondents are more likely to regard this outcome as good (45% total good) compared to female respondents (33% total good).