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  • May, 2011

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    Osama bin Laden

    Q. Do you think the death of Osama bin Laden will result in less terrorism or more terrorism or will it make no difference?

    Total Vote Labor Vote Liberal/ National Vote Greens
    Result in more terrorism 37% 32% 40% 40%
    Result in less terrorism 7% 8% 7% 9%
    Make no difference 48% 51% 48% 45%
    Don’t know 8% 9% 5% 6%

    About half (48%) think that the death of Osama bin Laden will make no difference to terrorism. However, 37% think it will result in more terrorism and only 7% think it will result in less terrorism. Views are broadly similar across demographic groups.

    Greens and Liberal/National voters (40%) are a little more likely to think it will result in more terrorism than Labor voters (32%).

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  • May, 2011

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    Troops in Afghanistan

    Q.  Thinking about the Australian troops in Afghanistan, do you think Australia should –

    25 Oct 10 21 Mar 11 Total Vote Labor Vote Lib/Nat Vote Greens
    Increase the number of troops in Afghanistan 10% 5% 6% 4% 8% 1%
    Keep the same number of troops in Afghanistan 30% 30% 36% 37% 43% 25%
    Withdraw our troops from Afghanistan 47% 56% 48% 49% 41% 65%
    Don’t know 14% 9% 11% 10% 8% 9%

    42% think that the Australian troops in Afghanistan should be increased or maintained and 48% think Australia should withdraw its troops. This is a significant drop (-8%) in support for withdrawal since this question was last asked in March.

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  • May, 2011

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    Prince William as Head of State

    Q. Under the current arrangements, Prince William will be Australia’s Head of State when he becomes King. Would you approve or disapprove of Prince William as Australia’s Head of State?

    Total Vote Labor Vote Lib/Nat Vote Greens Men Women Age

    18-34

    Aged

    35-54

    Aged 55+
    Total approve 60% 58% 68% 38% 56% 64% 56% 60% 65%
    Total disapprove 23% 26% 19% 49% 27% 19% 21% 25% 23%
    Strong approve 15% 12% 20% 6% 13% 18% 16% 13% 19%
    Approve 45% 46% 48% 32% 43% 46% 40% 47% 46%
    Disapprove 13% 13% 13% 30% 13% 14% 14% 14% 12%
    Strongly disapprove 10% 13% 6% 19% 14% 5% 7% 11% 11%
    Don’t know 17% 16% 13% 13% 18% 17% 24% 15% 12%

    60% approve of Prince William becoming Australia’s head of state and 23% disapprove.

    Those most likely to approve are Liberal/National voters (68%), women (64%) and aged 55+ (65%).

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  • May, 2011

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    Federal politics – voting intention

    Q. If a Federal Election was held today to which party will you probably give your first preference vote? If not sure, which party are you currently leaning toward?

    Q. If don’t know -Well which party are you currently leaning to?

    sample size =1,857

    First preference/leaning to Election

    21 Aug 10

    4 weeks ago 2 weeks ago Last week This week
    Liberal 43% 43% 43% 44%
    National 3% 3% 4% 3%
    Total Lib/Nat 43.6 46% 47% 47% 47%
    Labor 38.0 36% 35% 35% 35%
    Greens 11.8 10% 11% 10% 9%
    Other/Independent 6.6 8% 8% 8% 9%
    2PP Election

    21 Aug 10

    4 weeks ago 2 weeks ago Last week This week
    Total Lib/Nat 49.9% 53% 54% 54% 54%
    Labor 50.1% 47% 46% 46% 46%

    NB.  The data in the above tables comprise 2-week averages derived the first preference/leaning to voting questions.  Respondents who select ‘don’t know’ are not included in the results.  The two-party preferred estimate is calculated by distributing the votes of the other parties according to their preferences at the 2010 election.

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  • May, 2011

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    Interest in Federal Politics

    Q. When it comes to following Federal politics, which best describes you?

    Total Vote Labor Vote Lib/Nat Vote Greens Aged 18-34 Aged 35-54 Aged 55+
    I follow it closely 10% 12% 13% 8% 7% 10% 17%
    I follow it enough to know what’s happening 45% 46% 49% 45% 30% 49% 57%
    I follow it when something big is happening 18% 19% 20% 24% 27% 14% 15%
    I only pay attention when there’s an election 8% 7% 9% 6% 13% 8% 3%
    I have no interest in politics 14% 14% 8% 15% 17% 16% 6%
    Can’t say 4% 2% 1% 2% 6% 4% 2%

    55% say they follow Federal politics closely or enough to know what’s happening, 26% follow it only at elections or when something big is happening and 14% have no interest in politics.

    Older respondents tended to follow Federal politics more closely than younger respondents – 74% of those aged 55+ follow it closely or enough to know what’s happening compared to only 37% of those aged 18-34. Greens voters (53%) were a little less likely to follow politics than Labor (58%) or Liberal/National voters (62%).

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  • May, 2011

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    Change in Interest in Federal Politics

    Q. Over the last few years has your interest in following Federal politics increased or decreased?

    Total Vote Labor Vote Lib/Nat Vote Greens Aged 18-34 Aged 35-54 Aged 55+
    Total increased 29% 30% 35% 32% 37% 26% 25%
    Total decreased 11% 11% 6% 15% 11% 12% 11%
    Increased a lot 8% 10% 10% 7% 11% 7% 8%
    Increased a little 21% 20% 25% 25% 26% 19% 17%
    Stayed much the same 56% 56% 59% 54% 47% 60% 62%
    Decreased a little 6% 7% 4% 7% 4% 6% 8%
    Decreased a lot 5% 4% 2% 8% 7% 6% 3%
    Can’t say 4% 3% * 7% 3% 1%

    56% say their interest in following Federal politics has stayed much the same, 29% have more interest and 11% less interest.

    Respondents aged 18-34 were more likely to have more interest in following Federal politics (37%) while older voters’ interest was more likely to have stayed much the same.

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  • May, 2011

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    Trust in Media

    Q. How much would you say you trust each of the following media sources to provide you with the news and information you want about Australian politics?

    A lot/some trust
    Total a lot/some trust Total not much/no trust A lot of trust Some trust Not much trust No trust at all Don’t know Aged 18-34 Aged 35-54 Aged 55+
    ABC TV 76% 15% 29% 47% 9% 6% 9% 73% 77% 79%
    SBS 70% 15% 24% 46% 10% 5% 15% 69% 72% 67%
    ABC radio 69% 17% 25% 44% 11% 6% 14% 66% 71% 71%
    Daily newspapers 53% 40% 6% 47% 31% 9% 7% 52% 53% 52%
    Commercial TV 45% 48% 4% 41% 35% 13% 7% 42% 48% 44%
    Sky News 41% 25% 7% 34% 17% 8% 34% 46% 42% 34%
    Commercial radio 40% 48% 4% 36% 34% 14% 12% 34% 44% 41%

    The most trusted media for news and information about politics were ABC TV (76%), SBS (70%) and ABC radio (69%). The least trusted were commercial radio and commercial TV (both 48% not much or no trust).

    Those aged 18-34 tended to have more trust in Sky News (46%) but less trust in commercial radio (34%).

    The major differences by voting intention were that Liberal/National voters have more trust in commercial TV (52%), Sky News (48%) and commercial radio (49%).

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  • May, 2011

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    Perceptions of Media

    Q. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?

    Total agree Total disagree Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly disagree Don’t know
    The media usually reports the news accurately 35% 54% 2% 33% 41% 13% 12%
    The media usually reports all sides of a story 21% 69% 1% 20% 46% 23% 10%
    The media is too critical of government and politicians in Australia 29% 57% 4% 25% 46% 11% 14%
    These days I rely more on the internet than newspapers and TV for my news and information about politics. 44% 46% 12% 32% 37% 9% 10%
    I trust the media more than I trust politicians 37% 43% 4% 33% 33% 10% 20%
    I trust politicians more than I trust the media 16% 65% 1% 15% 44% 21% 18%
    The media does a good job of scrutinizing politics and holding politicians accountable 45% 43% 3% 42% 31% 12% 12%
    Overall, the media are politically biased in favour of the Liberal Party 19% 55% 4% 15% 44% 11% 26%
    Overall, the media are politically biased in favour of the Labor Party 23% 50% 5% 18% 41% 9% 25%
    The media are too focused on personalities and not enough on policies 70% 18% 21% 49% 15% 3% 12%
    There is too much coverage of politics in the media 34% 52% 7% 27% 45% 7% 14%
    The media does a good job of helping people to understand political and social issues 40% 48% 2% 38% 36% 12% 12%
    I follow the news closely every day 57% 38% 10% 47% 32% 6% 6%

    The majority of respondents disagree that the media usually reports all sides of a story (69%) and that the media reports the news accurately (54%).

    However, they tend to trust the media a little more than they trust politicians – 37% agree they trust the media more and 16% agree they trust politicians more.

    The results also indicate that respondents want more rather than less coverage of politics – only 34% agree that there is too much coverage of politics and 57% disagree that the media is too critical of government and politicians.

    Respondents were divided over whether the media does a good job of scrutinizing politics and holding politicians accountable (45% agree/43% disagree) and tended to disagree that the media does a good job of helping people to understand political and social issues (40% agree/48% disagree).

    70% agree that the media are too focused on personalities and not enough on policies.

    A minority of respondents think the media are biased – 23% think they are biased in favour of the Labor Party and 19% in favour of the Liberal Party.

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