Essential Report

Views towards reopening international borders

Sep 14, 2021

Q. Thinking about reopening Australia’s international borders, which of the following is closer to your view?

	Total	Gender		Age Group			Federal Voting Intention
	Total	Male	Female	18-34	35-54	55+	Labor	TOTAL: Coalition	Greens	TOTAL: Other
We need to accept some deaths to reopen our borders as the cost of remaining closed is too high	20%	24%	17%	20%	23%	19%	12%	26%	18%	24%
We need to accept some deaths but must take every reasonable step to minimise deaths, even if it means slowing our reopening	45%	43%	48%	46%	45%	45%	48%	46%	47%	43%
We cannot accept any deaths that could be prevented by keeping our borders closed until it’s safe to reopen them	34%	34%	35%	35%	32%	36%	40%	27%	34%	33%
Base (n)	1,100	539	561	341	374	385	367	389	103	145

	State
	NSW	VIC	QLD	SA	WA
We need to accept some deaths to reopen our borders as the cost of remaining closed is too high	24%	22%	18%	14%	15%
We need to accept some deaths but must take every reasonable step to minimise deaths, even if it means slowing our reopening	49%	47%	42%	47%	39%
We cannot accept any deaths that could be prevented by keeping our borders closed until it’s safe to reopen them	27%	30%	40%	40%	46%
Base (n)	352	274	217	89	111

When thinking about reopening Australia’s international borders, 45% think we need to accept some deaths but must take every reasonable step to minimise deaths, even if it means slowing our reopening.
A third (34%) think we cannot accept any deaths that could be prevented by keeping our borders closed until it’s safe to reopen them. 20% think we need to accept some deaths to reopen our borders as the cost of remaining closed is too high.
Men are more likely than women to think the cost of remaining closed is too high (24% to 17%), as are Coalition voters compared to all other voters (26% to 15%).

Comprehension and confidence in PM’s plan to ‘safely reopen’ Australia

Sep 14, 2021

Q. The Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he has a “safe plan to ensure that Australia can open up again with confidence”.

Thinking about this statement, which of the following applies to you?

	Total	Gender			Age Group				Federal Voting Intention
	Total	Male	Female	18-34		35-54	55+	Labor		TOTAL: Coalition	Greens	TOTAL: Other
I understand the plan and have confidence in it	26%	34%	19%	30%		27%	23%	18%		40%	23%	19%
I understand the plan but don’t have confidence in it	39%	38%	40%	38%		38%	40%	49%		30%	40%	43%
I’m aware of the plan but don’t understand it	15%	14%	17%	15%		13%	17%	12%		17%	19%	14%
I’m not aware of the plan	20%	14%	25%	16%		22%	20%	21%		13%	19%	24%
Base (n)	1,100	539	561	341		374	385	367		389	103	145

	State
	NSW	VIC	QLD	SA	WA
I understand the plan and have confidence in it	32%	26%	23%	22%	23%
I understand the plan but don’t have confidence in it	38%	43%	35%	38%	41%
I’m aware of the plan but don’t understand it	17%	14%	15%	18%	14%
I’m not aware of the plan	14%	17%	27%	22%	22%
Base (n)	352	274	217	89	111

About 4 in 10 (39%) say they understand the PM’s plan to ‘safely reopen’ Australia but don’t have confidence in it. In comparison, about a quarter (26%) say they understand the plan and have confidence in it.
20% aren’t aware of this plan, and 15% are aware of it but don’t understand it.
Men are almost twice as likely as women to say they understand the plan and have confidence in it (34% to 19% respectively). Whereas women are more likely than men to say they aren’t aware of the plan (25% to 14%).
Besides men, those aged 18-34 (30%) and Coalition voters (40%) are more likely than others to say they understand and have confidence in the PM’s plan.