11 march 2013, 110313, asylum seekers, immigration issues
Q. Which of the following issues are you most concerned about?
(two versions of responses were presented – each to approximately half the sample)
|
The arrival of asylum seekers by boat |
38% |
33% |
The arrival of approximately 15,000 asylum seekers by boat each year |
|
The use of foreign workers under short term (457) visas |
20% |
31% |
The use of about 150,000 foreign workers under short term (457) visas each year |
|
The overall increase in Australia’s total population |
18% |
17% |
The overall increase in Australia’s total population of about 300,000 people each year |
|
None of them |
19% |
15% |
None of them |
|
Don’t know |
4% |
4% |
Don’t know |
As general issues (without specific figures), 38% of respondents said they were most concerned about the arrival of asylum seekers by boat compared to 20% most concerned about use of workers on 457 visas and 18% most concerned about the overall population increase.
When approximate figures were specified for each option, most concern about asylum seekers dropped to 33% and most concern about 457 visas increased to 31%.
Based on the options which included figures – 36% of Labor voters are most concerned about 457 visas compared to 32% of Liberal/National voters. Liberal/National voters were more concerned about asylum seekers (42% – compared to 23% for Labor voters).
There were few differences by age or gender – except that older respondents were somewhat more likely to be most concerned about asylum seekers (42% of aged 55+).