15 April 2013, 150413, candidates, party leader, political party
Q. When deciding your vote in Federal elections, which of the following are you mostly influenced by?
|
Total |
Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| The individual candidate |
21% |
22% |
18% |
29% |
| The candidate’s political party |
47% |
48% |
56% |
47% |
| The leader of the political party |
21% |
21% |
22% |
17% |
| Don’t know |
11% |
9% |
4% |
7% |
47% of respondents said the political party is the main influence on their vote at Federal elections- 21% say they are mostly influenced by the individual candidate and 21% by the party leader.
Liberal/National voters (56%), those aged 55+ (53%) and incomes $1,600+ pw (56%) are more influenced by the party while Greens voters tend to be more influenced by the candidate (29%) and less by the leader (17%).
political party, poltical rally, public opinion of politics, strong views on politics
Q. Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each of the following statements:
|
Total Agree |
Total Disagree |
Strongly Agree |
Agree |
Disagree |
Strongly Disagree |
No opinion |
|
| Political action can change the world |
74% |
16% |
20% |
54% |
12% |
4% |
11% |
| There is a difference in the values of the major political parties |
66% |
25% |
17% |
49% |
21% |
4% |
10% |
| I have never attended a political event |
66% |
26% |
37% |
29% |
16% |
10% |
8% |
| All politicians are basically the same |
53% |
39% |
14% |
39% |
30% |
9% |
7% |
| I have strong views about politics |
47% |
43% |
13% |
34% |
30% |
13% |
10% |
| I have attended a political rally or meeting in the 3 years |
12% |
80% |
4% |
8% |
25% |
55% |
9% |
| I am, or have been, a member of a political party |
11% |
80% |
3% |
8% |
24% |
56% |
9% |
A vast majority of respondents believe that ‘political action can change the world’ (74%). A majority also believe that ‘there is a difference in the values of the major political parties’ (66%), state that ‘I have never attended a political event’ (66%) and believe that ‘all politicians are basically the same’ (53%). In terms of political activity, only 12% of respondents had attended a political rally or meeting in the last 3 years and only 11% are, or were, a member of a political party.
Looking at the results by age, older respondents are more likely to agree that ‘political action can change the world’ (83% total agree 55-64 and 65+). Those aged 65+ are also the most likely to agree that ‘there is a difference in the values of the major political parties’ (82% total agree).
Older respondents are also more likely to consider themselves as having strong views about politics, with 53% of those aged 55-64 agreeing with this statement and 63% of those aged 65+ agreeing. Attendance of political rallies or meetings declined with age, with respondents aged 18-24 the most likely to have attended a rally or meeting (17%), moving incrementally down at each age bracket to 6% of respondents aged 65+.