Ben Chifley, best PM, best Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, Federal Government, Gough Whitlam, Harold Holt, John Curtin, john howard, Julia Gillard, kevin rudd, Malcolm Fraser, paul keating, PM, Prime Minister, Robert Menzies
Q. Choosing from the following list, who do you think has been Australia’s best Prime Minister?
| Term of office | Total
19 Jan 2009 |
Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | Aged 18-34 | Aged 35-54 | Aged 55+ | |
| John Curtin | 7 Oct 1941 – 5 Jul 1945 | 4% | 2% | 4% | 1% | 3% | 1% | 2% | 3% |
| Ben Chifley | 13 Jul 1945 – 19 Dec 1949 | 2% | 1% | 2% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 3% |
| Robert Menzies | 19 Dec 1949 – 26 Jan 1966 | 11% | 11% | 4% | 18% | 4% | 4% | 8% | 21% |
| Harold Holt | 26 Jan 1966 – 19 Dec 1967 | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% | – | 1% | 1% | – |
| John Gorton | 10 Jan 1968 – 10 Mar1971 | 1% | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| William McMahon | 10 Mar 1971 – 5 Dec 1972 | 1% | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Gough Whitlam | 5 Dec 1972 – 11 Nov 1975 | 9% | 9% | 15% | 1% | 18% | 8% | 9% | 10% |
| Malcolm Fraser | 11 Nov 1975 – 11 Mar 1983 | 3% | 3% | 1% | 3% | 6% | – | 3% | 6% |
| Bob Hawke | 11 Mar 1983 – 20 Dec 1991 | 12% | 15% | 23% | 5% | 22% | 12% | 21% | 10% |
| Paul Keating | 20 Dec 1991 – 11 Mar 1996 | 8% | 6% | 12% | 2% | 10% | 7% | 6% | 4% |
| John Howard | 11 Mar 1996 – 3 Dec 2007 | 28% | 33% | 8% | 61% | 5% | 33% | 31% | 35% |
| Kevin Rudd | 3 Dec 2007 – 24 Jun 2010 | 20% | 15% | 21% | 6% | 27% | 25% | 15% | 6% |
| Julia Gillard | 24 Jun 2010 – present | na | 3% | 8% | – | 4% | 6% | 2% | 2% |
Note: Percentages based on those who gave an answer.
33% thought that John Howard has been Australia’s best Prime Minister, 15% chose Kevin Rudd and 15% Bob Hawke.
Among Liberal/National voters, 61% chose John Howard and 18% Robert Menzies. With 23%, Bob Hawke received the highest rating from Labor voters, just ahead of Kevin Rudd on 21% with Gough Whitlam on 15%. Greens voters favoured Kevin Rudd (27%) and Bob Hawke (22%).
While John Howard received similar scores across age groups, the 18-34 group were more likely to favour Kevin Rudd (25%), the 35-54’s Bob Hawke (21%) and the 55+ group Robert Menzies (21%). Compared to the results when this question was asked 3 years ago (when Kevin Rudd was Prime Minister), John Howard (+5%) and Bob Hawke (+3%) have improved their ratings while Kevin Rudd’s has dropped 5%.