Attributes to describe the Prime Minister
Q. Which of the following describe your opinion of the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard?
| 5 Jul 10 | 4 Oct 10 | Difference | |
| Intelligent | 87% | 81% | -6% |
| Hard-working | 89% | 82% | -7% |
| A capable leader | 72% | 59% | -13% |
| Demanding | 58% | 58% | 0% |
| Arrogant | 37% | 39% | 2% |
| Out of touch with ordinary people | 35% | 44% | 9% |
| Understands the problems facing Australia | 68% | 55% | -13% |
| Visionary | 48% | 38% | -10% |
| Good in a crisis | 61% | 46% | -15% |
| Narrow-minded | 28% | 35% | 7% |
| Down to earth | 68% | 62% | -6% |
| Too inflexible | 26% | 36% | 10% |
| Complacent | 27% | 31% | 4% |
| More honest than most politicians | 45% | 37% | -8% |
| Trustworthy | 49% | 42% | -7% |
Attributes to describe the Prime Minister – Gender difference
Q. Which of the following describe your opinion of the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard?
| Total | Male | Female | |
| Intelligent | 81% | 79% | 84% |
| Hard-working | 82% | 80% | 83% |
| A capable leader | 59% | 57% | 61% |
| Demanding | 58% | 62% | 54% |
| Arrogant | 39% | 38% | 39% |
| Out of touch with ordinary people | 44% | 47% | 41% |
| Understands the problems facing Australia | 55% | 53% | 56% |
| Visionary | 38% | 38% | 38% |
| Good in a crisis | 46% | 46% | 46% |
| Narrow-minded | 35% | 38% | 31% |
| Down to earth | 62% | 60% | 65% |
| Too inflexible | 36% | 40% | 33% |
| Complacent | 31% | 34% | 28% |
| More honest than most politicians | 37% | 39% | 35% |
| Trustworthy | 42% | 45% | 39% |
Comparison of Leader Attributes
| Julia Gillard | Tony Abbott | Difference | |
| Intelligent | 81% | 71% | 10% |
| Hard-working | 82% | 78% | 4% |
| A capable leader | 59% | 52% | 7% |
| Demanding | 58% | 61% | -3% |
| Arrogant | 39% | 60% | -21% |
| Out of touch with ordinary people | 44% | 53% | -9% |
| Understands the problems facing Australia | 55% | 53% | 2% |
| Visionary | 38% | 31% | 7% |
| Good in a crisis | 46% | 42% | 4% |
| Narrow-minded | 35% | 53% | -18% |
| Down to earth | 62% | 47% | 15% |
| Too inflexible | 36% | 43% | -7% |
| Complacent | 31% | 32% | -1% |
| More honest than most politicians | 37% | 32% | 5% |
| Trustworthy | 42% | 35% | 7% |
View of Tony Abbott
Q. Some people say that Tony Abbott is unfairly putting roadblocks in the way of Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s programs. Others say that he is merely performing the appropriate role for the leader of the opposition. Which is closer to your view?
| Tony Abbott is unfairly putting roadblocks in the way of Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s programs | 46% |
| Tony Abbott is performing the appropriate role for the leader of the opposition | 54% |
Lib/Nat voters were far more likely to state that Tony Abbott is performing the appropriate role as leader (93%). Labor (80%) and Green (73%) voters were more like to state that Tony Abbott is unfairly putting roadblocks in the way of Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s programs.
Those aged 65+ were more likely to state that Tony Abbott is performing the appropriate role as leader (64%). Comments »
View of both leaders
Q. Some people say that with such a closely divided Parliament, both leaders – Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott – should be willing to modify some of their previously-held positions and made more compromises with the opposing side. Others say, that is wrong, that they should stick to the positions they were each elected on. Which is closer to your view?
| Both leaders should be willing to modify some of their previously-held positions and made more compromises with the opposing side | 52% |
| Both leaders should they should stick to the positions they were each elected on | 48% |
Labor (64%) and Green voters (65%) voters were more likely to state that both leaders should be willing to modify some of their previously-held positions. Lib/Nat voters were more likely to state that both leaders should they should stick to the positions (64%).
Those aged 25-34 were more likely (65%) to state that both leaders should be willing to modify some of their previously-held positions. Comments »
Assessment of Leaders
Q. Which leader – Julia Gillard or Tony Abbott – would you say has shown more leadership abilities during the period since the election?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| Julia Gillard | 47% | 92% | 10% | 73% |
| Tony Abbott | 35% | 2% | 75% | 4% |
| Don’t know | 18% | 6% | 15% | 23% |
47% think Julia Gillard has shown more leadership abilities during the period since the election and 35% favour Tony Abbott.
By gender – men favour Julia Gillard 47%/38%, women 48%/31%. Comments »
Better Prime Minister
Q. Who do you think would make the better Prime Minister out of Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott?
| 5 Jul 10 | 19 Jul 10 | 26 Jul 10 | 2 Aug 10 | 9 Aug 10 | 16 Ag 10 | 30 Aug | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Kevin Rudd v Tony Abbott21 Jun 10 | ||
| Julia Gillard | 53% | 50% | 51% | 48% | 45% | 46% | 46% | 94% | 3% | 66% | 47% | |
| Tony Abbott | 26% | 27% | 26% | 30% | 33% | 35% | 36% | 1% | 83% | 8% | 30% | |
| Don’t know | 21% | 23% | 23% | 22% | 21% | 19% | 18% | 4% | 14% | 26% | 23% |
46% think Julia Gillard would make the better Prime Minister and 36% prefer Tony Abbott – a similar margin to previous poll.
Julia Gillard is preferred 94% to 1% by Labor voters – and Tony Abbott is preferred 83% to 3% by Liberal/National voters. Greens voters prefer Julia Gillard 66% to 8%.
Men prefer Julia Gillard 44%/41% and women 48%/32%. Comments »
Opinion of Julia Gillard
Q. Since the election was called has your opinion of Julia Gillard and the Labor Party gone up or down?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | 2 weeks ago | ||
| Total gone up | 21% | 42% | 8% | 22% | 19% | |
| Total gone down | 40% | 13% | 67% | 28% | 42% | |
| Gone up a lot | 6% | 16% | * | 3% | 6% | |
| Gone up a little | 15% | 26% | 8% | 19% | 13% | |
| Stayed the same | 35% | 44% | 23% | 48% | 32% | |
| Gone down a little | 18% | 12% | 26% | 15% | 20% | |
| Gone down a lot | 22% | 1% | 41% | 13% | 22% | |
| Don’t know | 4% | 1% | 1% | 2% | 7% |
21% say their opinion of Julia Gillard and the Labor Party has gone up during the election campaign and 40% say it has gone down.
This is a slight improvement on their position 2 weeks ago when opinion was 19% up and 42% down.
By gender – men 20% up/43% down and women 23% up/36% down. Comments »
COVID-19 RESEARCH
Read Essential's ongoing research on the public response to Covid-19.
Download this week's ReportEssential Report
Two Party Preferred:
In this week's report:
- Performance of Scott Morrison
- Performance of Anthony Albanese
- Preferred Prime Minister
- Federal government response to Covid-19
- State government response to Covid-19
- Better leadership during Covid-19 – PM vs state leader
- Attitudes towards Craig Kelly controversy and Scott Morrison’s leadership
- Views towards federal vs state government responsibility to manage Covid-19 hotel quarantine system
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