john howard, reason for war in Iraq, war
Q. What do you think was the main reason John Howard’s Government joined the war in Iraq?
|
Total |
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
Vote other |
|
April 2013 |
|
| They believed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction |
18% |
17% |
24% |
11% |
13% |
18% |
||
| To ensure access to Iraq’s oil |
11% |
14% |
8% |
13% |
14% |
9% |
||
| To support the USA |
53% |
54% |
48% |
59% |
65% |
56% |
||
| To remove Saddam Hussein |
7% |
6% |
11% |
3% |
3% |
7% |
||
| Don’t know |
11% |
10% |
9% |
13% |
5% |
10% |
A majority (53%) thought that the main reason Australia joined the war in Iraq was to support the USA. Only 18% thought the main reason was that they believed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. These results are not significantly different from those when this question was asked in April last year.
22 April 2013, 220413, john howard, reason for war in Iraq
Q. What do you think was the main reason John Howard’ s Government joined the war in Iraq?
|
Total
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| They believed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction |
18% |
15% |
26% |
5% |
| To ensure access to Iraq’s oil |
9% |
12% |
6% |
8% |
| To support the USA |
56% |
62% |
49% |
76% |
| To remove Saddam Hussein |
7% |
6% |
8% |
2% |
| Don’t know |
10% |
5% |
11% |
8% |
A majority (56%) thought that the main reason Australia joined the war in Iraq was to support the USA. Only 18% thought the main reason was that they believed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
Those most likely to think that the main reason was they believed Iraq had weapons of mass destruction were Liberal/National voters (26%) and people aged 65+ (30%).
22 April 2013, 220413, john howard, Saddam Hussein, war in Iraq, weapons of mass destruction, WMD
Q. John Howard has said that regardless of whether Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction or not, the decision was right because it was in Australia’s national interests, and the removal of Saddam Hussein’s regime provided the Iraqi people with opportunities for freedom. Do you agree or disagree?
|
Total
|
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| Total agree |
44% |
35% |
58% |
16% |
| Total disagree |
37% |
50% |
23% |
58% |
| Strongly agree |
10% |
7% |
15% |
1% |
| Agree |
34% |
28% |
43% |
15% |
| Disagree |
20% |
24% |
15% |
21% |
| Strongly Disagree |
17% |
26% |
8% |
37% |
| Don’t know |
19% |
15% |
19% |
26% |
44% agreed and 37% disagreed with John Howard’s argument that regardless of whether Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction or not, the decision was right because it was in Australia’s national interests, and the removal of Saddam Hussein’s regime provided the Iraqi people with opportunities for freedom.
58% of Liberal/National voters agreed while 58% of Greens voters and 50% of Labor voters disagreed.
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%.
Q. Since the 2007 election, has your opinion of the former Prime Minister, John Howard, become more favourable or less favourable?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | Vote Greens | |
| More favourable | 15% | 6% | 27% | 6% |
| Less favourable | 24% | 41% | 12% | 26% |
| Stayed the same | 57% | 52% | 60% | 67% |
| Don’t know | 4% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
15% say their opinion of John Howard has become more favourable since the 2007 election and 24% less favourable – 57% have stayed the same. 41% of Labor voters have become less favourable while 27% of Coalition voters are more favourable and 12% less favourable. Comments »
brendan nelson, john howard, kevin rudd, kim beazley, leaders, malcolm turnbull, mark latham, paul keating, simon crean, tony abbott
Q. From the following list of current and recent leaders of the Liberal/Labor Party – rate each in terms of whether you think they were a good or poor leader of their party.
| Total good | Total poor | Very good | Good | Average | Poor | Very poor | Don’t know | |
| Tony Abbott | 30% | 34% | 7% | 23% | 29% | 14% | 20% | 7% |
| Malcolm Turnbull | 28% | 33% | 6% | 22% | 32% | 20% | 13% | 8% |
| Brendan Nelson | 13% | 44% | 2% | 11% | 33% | 28% | 16% | 11% |
| John Howard | 51% | 26% | 27% | 24% | 18% | 11% | 15% | 5% |
| Kevin Rudd | 38% | 34% | 10% | 28% | 23% | 15% | 19% | 4% |
| Kim Beazley | 29% | 29% | 7% | 22% | 36% | 17% | 12% | 6% |
| Mark Latham | 7% | 62% | 2% | 5% | 23% | 26% | 36% | 8% |
| Simon Crean | 9% | 47% | 2% | 7% | 32% | 29% | 18% | 12% |
| Paul Keating | 40% | 26% | 14% | 26% | 27% | 12% | 14% | 8% |
Overall, John Howard (51% good/26% poor) was considered the best Liberal Party leader of recent times and Paul Keating (40%/26%) the best Labor leader.
However the current leaders – Kevin Rudd (38% good/34% poor) and Tony Abbott (30%/34%) – were both considered better than the leaders they succeeded.
Among Liberal/National voters Tony Abbott was rated good by 63%, compared to John Howard at 86% and Malcolm Turnbull at 37%.
Among Labor voters Kevin Rudd was rated good by 78%, compared to Paul Keating at 58% and Kim Beazley at 40%. Comments »
Cricket, ICC, john howard, Sport
Q. Do you approve or disapprove of the former Prime Minister John Howard becoming head of the International Cricket Council?
| Total | Vote Labor | Vote Lib/Nat | |
| Total approve | 32% | 18% | 56% |
| Total disapprove | 18% | 31% | 6% |
| Strongly approve | 8% | 4% | 15% |
| Approve | 24% | 14% | 41% |
| Disapprove | 10% | 19% | 4% |
| Strongly disapprove | 8% | 12% | 2% |
| No opinion | 50% | 51% | 38% |
Exactly half the respondents have no opinion about John Howard becoming head of the International Cricket Council – 32% approve and 18% disapprove.
56% of Liberal/National voters approve but 31% of Labor voters disapprove and 18% approve.
57% of women and 60% of people aged under 35 have no opinion. Men approve 35% to 22%.